Dionne Warwick recently paid Kelly Clarkson a visit on her talk show, where the two musicians praised one another. During the discussion, Warwick opened up about how she found out that Doja Cat had sampled her song, “Walk On By,” for the latter’s Scarlet single, “Paint The Town Red.”
As it turns out, Doja didn’t need permission for the sample — so Warwick found out through a sweet story about her granddaughter.
“I didn’t know it had been recorded by her,” she said. “My granddaughter called me and says, ‘Grammy, do you know you’re on a record with Doja Cat?’ I said, ‘Doja who?’”
“Well, apparently, it’s a major hit for her,” Warwick added.
Clarkson then confirmed how much of a hit that Doja’s “Paint The Town Red” is, “Oh no no, it’s huge.”
“I’m thrilled,” Warwick continued. “I hope ‘Walk On By’ is as good for her as it has been for me… They’re great songs, and finally [the kids are] being exposed to some good music.”
Back in 1964, Warwick’s “Walk On By” had reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. Decades later, Doja Cat earned her first solo No. 1 hit by incorporating it into “Paint The Town Red.”
Check out the clip of Dionne Warwick talking about Doja sampling her above.