Dinah Washington (; born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, one of the most popular black female recording artists of the 1950s. Primarily a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

vocalist, she performed and recorded in a wide variety of styles including

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

, R&B, and traditional pop music, and gave herself the title of "Queen of the Blues". She was also known as "Queen of the Jukeboxes". She was a 1986 inductee of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.

Early life

Ruth Lee Jones was born in

Tuscaloosa, Alabama Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal Plain, Gulf Coastal and Piedmont (United States), Piedm ...

, to Alice and Ollie Jones, and moved to Chicago as a child. She became deeply involved in gospel music and played piano for the choir in St. Luke's Baptist Church while still in elementary school. She sang gospel music in church and played piano, directing her church choir in her teens and was a member of the Sallie Martin Gospel Singers. When she joined the Sallie Martin group, she dropped out of Wendell Phillips High School. She sang lead with the first female gospel singers formed by Sallie Martin, who was co-founder of the Gospel Singers Convention. Her involvement with the gospel choir occurred after she won an amateur contest at Chicago's Regal Theater where she sang "I Can't Face the Music".

Career

Clubs

After winning a talent contest at the age of 15, she began performing in clubs. By 1941–42, she was performing in such Chicago clubs as Dave's Café and the Downbeat Room of the Sherman Hotel (with Fats Waller). She was playing at the Three Deuces, a jazz club, when a friend took her to hear

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...

at the Garrick Stage Bar. Club owner Joe Sherman was so impressed with her singing of " I Understand", backed by the Cats and the Fiddle, who were appearing in the Garrick's upstairs room, that he hired her. During her year at the Garrick—she sang upstairs while Holiday performed in the downstairs room—she acquired the name by which she became known. She credited Joe Sherman with suggesting the change from Ruth Jones, made before

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, percussionist, and bandleader. He worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, an ...

came to hear Dinah at the Garrick. Hampton's visit brought an offer, and Washington worked as his female band vocalist after she had sung with the band for its opening at the Chicago Regal Theatre.

Early recordings

She made her recording debut for the Keynote label that December with "Evil Gal Blues", written by Leonard Feather and backed by Hampton and musicians from his band, including Joe Morris (trumpet) and Milt Buckner (piano). Both that record and its follow-up, "Salty Papa Blues", made the ''Billboard'' "Harlem Hit Parade" in 1944. In December 1945, she made a series of 12 recordings for Apollo Records, 10 of which were issued, featuring the Lucky Thompson All Stars. Dinah Washington 1952

Solo recordings and hits

She stayed with Hampton's band until 1946, after the Keynote label folded, and signed for

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...

as a solo singer. Her first record for Mercury, a version of Fats Waller's " Ain't Misbehavin'", was another hit, starting a long string of success. Between 1948 and 1955, she had 27 R&B top-10 hits, making her one of the most popular and successful singers of the period. Both "Am I Asking Too Much" (1948) and " Baby Get Lost" (1949) reached Number 1 on the R&B chart, and her version of " I Wanna Be Loved" (1950) crossed over to reach Number 22 on the US Pop Chart. Her hit recordings included blues, standards, novelties, pop covers, and even a version of

Hank Williams Hiram "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. An early pioneer of country music, he is regarded as one of the most significant and influential musicians of the 20th century. W ...

' " Cold, Cold Heart" (R&B Number 3, 1951). At the same time as her biggest popular success, she also recorded sessions with many leading jazz musicians, including Clifford Brown and Clark Terry on the album '' Dinah Jams'' (1954), and also recorded with

Cannonball Adderley Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley (September 15, 1928August 8, 1975) was an American jazz Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist of the hard bop era of the 1950s and 1960s. Adderley is perhaps best remembered by the general public for the 1966 soul ...

and

Ben Webster Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909 – September 20, 1973) was an American jazz tenor Saxophone, saxophonist. He performed in the United States and Europe and made many recordings with Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Johnny Hodges, a ...

. In 1950, Washington performed at the sixth Cavalcade of Jazz concert held at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles which was produced by Leon Hefflin, Sr. on June 25. Also featured on the same day were

, PeeWee Crayton's Orchestra, Roy Milton and his Orchestra, Tiny Davis and Her Hell Divers, and other artists. There were 16,000 reported to be in attendance, and the concert ended early because of a fracas while Lionel Hampton played "Flying High". Washington returned to perform at the twelfth Cavalcade of Jazz also at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles on September 2, 1956. Also performing that day were

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the "Ar ...

, The Mel Williams Dots, Julie Stevens, Chuck Higgins' Orchestra, Bo Rhambo, Willie Hayden & Five Black Birds, The Premiers,

Gerald Wilson Gerald Stanley Wilson (September 4, 1918 – September 8, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. Born in Mississippi, he was based in Los Angeles from the early 1940s. He arranged music for D ...

and His 20-Pc. Recording Orchestra and Jerry Gray and his Orchestra. In 1959, she had her first top ten pop hit, with a version of " What a Diff'rence a Day Makes", which made Number 4 on the US pop chart. Her band at that time included arranger and conductor Belford Hendricks, with

Kenny Burrell Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist known for his work on numerous top jazz labels: Prestige Records, Prestige, Blue Note, Verve Records, Verve, CTI Records, CTI, Muse Records, Muse, and Concord Records, Conco ...

(guitar), Joe Zawinul (piano), and

Panama Francis David Albert "Panama" Francis (December 21, 1918 – November 13, 2001) was an American swing jazz drummer who played on numerous hit recordings in the 1950s. Early life Francis was born in Miami, Florida, on December 21, 1918. His father was ...

(drums). She followed it up with a version of Irving Gordon's " Unforgettable", and then two highly successful duets in 1960 with Brook Benton, " Baby (You've Got What It Takes)" (No. 5 Pop, No. 1 R&B) and " A Rockin' Good Way (To Mess Around and Fall in Love)" (No. 7 Pop, No. 1 R&B). Her last big hit was " September in the Rain" in 1961 (No. 23 Pop, No. 5 R&B). Washington notably performed two numbers in the dirty blues genre. The songs were "Long John Blues" about her dentist, with lyrics like "He took out his trusty drill. Told me to open wide. He said he wouldn't hurt me, but he filled my whole inside." She also recorded a song called " Big Long Slidin' Thing", supposedly about a trombonist. Washington was well known for singing torch songs. In 1962, she hired a male backing trio called the Allegros, consisting of Jimmy Thomas on drums, Earl Edwards on sax, and Jimmy Sigler on organ. Edwards was replaced on sax by John Payne. A ''Variety'' writer praised their vocals as "effective choruses". One source states that Washington "produced 45 R&B-charted hits between 1948 and 1961, including 16 Top 15 placements between 1948 and 1950".

Appraisals and notable performances

In the 1950s and early 1960s before her death, Washington occasionally performed on the Las Vegas Strip.

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023), known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

said of Washington during a recording session with

Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer, songwriter, musician, and businesswoman. With over 30 million records sold worldwide, she was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix ...

: According to Richard S. Ginell at AllMusic: Washington's achievements included appearances at the

Newport Jazz Festival The Newport Jazz Festival is an annual American multi-day jazz music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. Elaine Lorillard established the festival in 1954, and she and husband Louis Lorillard financed it for many years. They hire ...

(1955–1959), the Randalls Island Jazz Festival in New York City (1959), and the International Jazz Festival in Washington, D.C. (1962), frequent gigs at Birdland (1958, 1961–1962), and performances in 1963 with

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

and

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

Personal life and death

Washington was married seven times, although according to other sources she had six, eight or nine husbands. Early in the morning of December 14, 1963, Washington's last husband, football player Dick "Night Train" Lane, went to sleep with Washington and awoke later to find her slumped over and not responsive. Dr. B.C. Ross pronounced her dead at the scene at age 39. An autopsy later showed a lethal combination of secobarbital and amobarbital, prescriptions for her insomnia and diet, which contributed to her death. She is buried in the Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois.

Awards

;Grammy Award ;Grammy Hall of Fame Recordings by Dinah Washington were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, which is a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least 25 years old, and that have "qualitative or historical significance." ;Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame listed her "TV Is the Thing (This Year)" as one of the songs that shaped rock and roll. ;Honors and Inductions * '' Unforgettable: A Tribute to Dinah Washington'' is a 1964 album recorded by

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

as a tribute. * In 1993, the U.S. Post Office issued a Dinah Washington 29 cent commemorative postage stamp. * In 2005, the Board of Commissioners renamed a park, near where Washington had lived in Chicago in the 1950s, Dinah Washington Park in her honor. * In 2008, the city of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Washington's birthplace, renamed the section of 30th Avenue between 15th Street and Kaulton Park "Dinah Washington Avenue." The unveiling ceremony for the new name took place on March 12, 2009, with Washington's son Robert Grayson and three of her grandchildren in attendance. * On August 29, 2013, the city of Tuscaloosa also dedicated the former Allen Jemison Hardware building, on the northwest corner of Greensboro Avenue and 7th Street (620 Greensboro Avenue), as the newly renovated Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center."

Album discography

References

External links

Dinah Washington : Home
Verve Music Group * {{DEFAULTSORT:Washington, Dinah 1924 births 1963 deaths 20th-century American women singers 20th-century African-American women singers 20th-century Baptists American blues singers American jazz singers Grammy Award winners Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients African-American jazz musicians American women jazz singers American gospel singers American torch singers Dirty blues musicians People from Tuscaloosa, Alabama Apollo Records artists EmArcy Records artists Mercury Records artists Roulette Records artists Alabama Democrats Illinois Democrats Michigan Democrats Accidental deaths in Michigan Drug-related deaths in Michigan Barbiturates-related deaths Baptists from Alabama Singers from Alabama Singers from Chicago American ballad musicians Traditional pop music singers Jazz musicians from Illinois Jazz musicians from Alabama Burials at Burr Oak Cemetery DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame members