Dionne Warwick's long walk

Family affair: Warwick (L) with Cissy and Whitney Houston

Soul diva Dionne Warwick - who has been charged with possessing marijuana in the US - has had a long and eventful career. BBC News Online looks back at a life in the spotlight which goes back to the 1960s.

Dionne Warwick is known for her remarkable showbusiness longevity - and for the esteem in which she is held by fellow musicians.

Born in December 1940, she came from a distinctly musical family. Sister Dee Dee is also a singer, as are aunts Cissy and Thelma Houston - and niece Whitney Houston.

Bacharach: Song craftsman behind the scenes

As a young woman in East Orange, New Jersey she sang gospel with her sister and recorded studio sessions, but her career began in earnest when she met songwriters Hal David and Burt Bacharach.

They secured the singer a contract with the Sceptre label, which was already having hits with girl group The Shirelles.

Her first hit in the US was Don't Make Me Over, followed a year later by her first UK hit, Anyone Who Had A Heart.

The teaming up with Bacharach and David was to produce classic, evergreen pop music - and an extraordinary run of hits.

Warwick finally hit number one in 1974

Warwick's voice, lighter and jazzier than that of many gospel and soul singers, was the perfect vehicle for the sophisticated but catchy writing of the songwriters - who composed all but four of her first 37 hits, and produced all but two of them.

Highlights of her work with Bacharach and David included Walk On By, You'll Never Get To Heaven, and Do You Know The Way To San Jose.

Oddly, though, she had no number ones in the US or UK until she had left Bacharach and David.

She finally hit the number one spot in 1974 with Then Came You, a pairing with vocal group The Detroit Spinners.

Warwick had another burst of success in the 1980s

There followed a live recording album with soul man Isaac Hayes and a hit album, Dionne, produced by Barry Manilow.

Her next burst of success came in the early 1980s under the guiding hand of producer Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees, when she charted with Heartbreaker and All The Love In The World.

Her last big UK hit was That's What Friends Are For, an Aids charity fundraiser featuring Elton John, Stevie Wonder and Gladys Knight.

Warwick has also recorded a tribute album to one of her musical loves, Brazil, and an album of songs by Cole Porter.

Warwick now spends half her time in Brazil

Warwick, who has won five Grammy awards, also appeared in the film Slaves in 1968 - blazing a trial for black female recording artists which was later to be followed by Diana Ross (Lady Sings The Blues) and her niece Whitney Houston (The Bodyguard).

Warwick now spends half her time in Brazil but runs a number of philanthropic programmes in the US, including Best Friends, an "abstinence and character-building programme" for young women.

She served as a US "ambassador for health" during the 1980s.

She has also become well-known for presenting TV advertisements for the Psychic Friends, a telephone-based clairvoyants' network.