Last year, Dionne Warwick only found out one of her songs was a hit again when a grandchild informed her that her 1963 classic "Walk on By" had been sampled on Doja Cat’s “Paint The Town Red.” “I said, ‘Doja who?,’” Warwick shares in the latest issue of Us Weekly, laughing. But Warwick’s recent resurgence hasn’t whet her appetite to hear current chart-toppers. “I don’t listen to radio, because there’s nothing on that I want to hear,” she teased. It's been over six decades since Warwick elegantly belted out her earliest hits. So what does she make of the way pop and R&B singers are styled today? “I don’t,” she quipped. Today’s younger artists “feel that they invented show business,” she explained. “It’s a youth-oriented industry today — which doesn’t surprise me because when I was coming through, it was a youth-oriented industry. I find it quite interesting that talent is not the precedence. It’s how little you can wear, how much you can shake your body, how different you have chosen to look. It’s another industry altogether.” That might scare a less assured artist into early retirement, but this seasoned songstress remains undeterred. Now, 55 years after winning her first Grammy for “Do You Know the Way to San Jose,” she’s finally preparing to record with her “all-time favorite group of all,” Earth Wind & Fire. But first, the 83-year-old music titan spent some quality time with Us to reflect on career highlights and preview what still lies ahead. Debbie Hickey/Getty Images You’ve had 56 charted hits and been covered countless times, but was there ever a song you wished you had recorded first? “What The World Needs Now is Love.” When Burt Bachrach and Hal David played that song for me, I said, “No, I don't think so,” because it had a very cowboy loop to it. I’m not a cowgirl. They took what we call the Dionne Warwick Formula, applied it to [singer Jackie DeShannon’s] recording, and she had a massive hit. It must be funny for you to see everyone doing this country twang, cowgirl thing in pop right now. Well, it’s funny, country folks are now putting more of a pop sound to their sound. So we're cross-sectioning everything now. But guess what, we're all singing the same eight notes. I don't care what genre you want to put it in, it's the same scale that we have to sing. There's nothing else on the piano, but that scale. So we are just singing music, that's all it is, music. You broke a lot of barriers and performed in front of audiences where Black artists had never been before. You were one of the first recording artists to perform before Queen Elizabeth, the first African-American woman to perform for her. What did that experience mean to you at the time? The first one was the Queen Mother. And I knew it was an honor to have been asked to do it. Then I performed before her daughter, Queen Elizabeth in 1968. I did that twice. It’s not only an honor, it’s a privilege, to think that first, they know me, who I am, and to request that I be a part of an event that they’re going to be at. You spent many years, especially at the beginning of your career, singing with your aunt, Cissy Houston. Are there memories that you two revisit the most these days? She’s doing very well, thank God. I sang with her during the period of time that she was a part of the gospel group that she comes from, The Drinkard Singers. [Cissy was] the baby of the family. It was a part of family stuff. We all sang together. Whitney Houston’s Ups and Downs Through the Years: Grammys, Movies, Motherhood and More We lost her daughter, your cousin Whitney Houston, 12 years ago. Is there a memory of her you hold most dear? Whitney was basically the little girl I never had. During the summer months on my tours, I would gather all my little cousins and take them on the road with me. She was one of them. Watching her grow into the magnificent artist that she became, was so pleasurable for me. She was a star. We were lucky enough to see your two stars align during the Arista Records 15th anniversary celebration in 1990, where you two duet on “That’s What Friends Are For.” What was it like singing together, the two of you? Oh, it was normal [laughs] and people said “Normal?” Yeah, normal. We’re family. It was something that we always did. It wasn’t anything new, most people would say, “I’m singing with Whitney Houston,” which is this wonderful thing. We sang together all the time, and I loved every minute of it. Speaking of that song, you were one of the first recording artists to really speak up about AIDS during a time when so many others were scared to, and in 1985 recorded “That’s What Friends Are For” with Elton John, Stevie Wonder, and Gladys Knight. It raised millions for the cause. Where did the courage for that come from? I lost two people to AIDS, long before we even knew what to call it. I started calling doctors and a few scientists that I knew. I went to other countries to see what was being done, bringing back medications that seemed to be stemming it. I liken the issue to a train ride: I got on at the beginning and will not get off until we find a cure or a definite stem to this thing. Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic So many pop hits now have gotten shorter and lack a bridge. You've been outspoken against that. Why? Music is too vitally important to try to destroy. That's what I felt was being done. And in some cases, still trying to be done. I won't allow it. We're messengers. I have always been one to be honest, to give messages of joy and happiness and love, hope, inspiration. You've spoken to rappers like Snoop Dogg about the themes and words used in rap and the power of words. What do you think about the more overtly sexual themes and lyrics in pop now? I think it's horrible, first of all, that the FCC allows it. I am really surprised. I have children, I have grand babies, and I don’t want [those] words getting into their ears. We talked for quite a while. I met with quite a few of them and just let them know, “Not only are you gonna grow up but your ears are too, and eventually your children's ears are gonna hear this. Is that really what you them to listen to?” They heard me and decided, “I guess I should give it some thought here before I say a terrible word. Maybe there's another word I can use.” And I told them, “Just stop and think before you speak.” And that's what happened. They calmed down so very much after I had those meetings with them so they began to realize maybe she knows what she's talking about. Have there been any recent pop songs that have stuck out to you as potential classics? There are a few artists that I find quite entertaining. Some of the things that Justin Bieber has done are very inspiring. Justin Timberlake, he’s a real artist. He sings his little behind off. Beyoncé’s growth has been just tremendous. I’m very proud of her. Alicia Keys, she’s very, very talented and very positive. Bradley Cooper, Kate Winslet, Michelle Obama and More Stars You May Not Realize Are Grammy Winners Your song “Walk On By” was sampled by Doja Cat in “Paint the Town Red.” Did you get to explore any of her music at all? No. [laughs] Some of her music is not for my ears. But it was quite interesting because I had no idea of this yet, the idea to use “Walk On By” in one of her songs. My grandchild calls me: “Grammy. Grammy, do you know who you're on a recording with?” I said, “Doja, who? No, I don’t know Doja Cat.” She's not the only one that's taken my music. But it was quite surprising, first of all, that these kids know who I am. So being current and being someone that apparently has inspired some of these children musically is an important thing as well. Teyana Taylor is confirmed to play you in your upcoming biopic. Why is she the right person? My son Damon sent me a photograph of me and split the screen with a photograph of her. I swore I was looking at me. I said, “[Oh] my God, who is this?” And he says, “This is Teyana Taylor.” I could not believe the resemblance. And then I got to speak with her. She knew more about me than I knew about me! [laughs] So when we get around to getting into the studios to film it, she's the one. Were you considering retiring in 2022, when you had your 'She’s Back One Last Time' tour? No. That should never have been the title of that tour. What it meant was it's the last time that I am going to be on the road as much. Everybody kept saying, “You're not retiring, are you?” Not yet. That will happen when I am not able to reach the bar that I set for myself. That's when I take my little ballet slippers and hang them up and walk on by. [laughs] For more on Dionne Warwick, watch the exclusive video above — and pick up the latest issue of Us Weekly, on newsstands now.