Editing Dinah Washington (section)

==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]] at the Garrick Stage Bar. Club owner Joe Sherman was so impressed with her singing of "[[I Understand (1941 song)|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]] came to hear Dinah at the Garrick.<ref name="Nadine Cohodas 2004" /> 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 Records|Keynote]] label that December with "Evil Gal Blues", written by [[Leonard Feather]] and backed by Hampton and musicians from his band, including [[Joe Morris (trumpeter)|Joe Morris]] (trumpet) and [[Milt Buckner]] (piano).<ref name=allmusic /><ref name=halloffame>{{cite web |url=http://rockhall.com/inductees/dinah-washington/bio/ |title=Dinah Washington Biography |publisher=Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum |website=rockhall.com |access-date=June 27, 2014}}</ref> Both that record and its follow-up, "Salty Papa Blues", made the ''Billboard'' [[R&B chart|"Harlem Hit Parade"]] in 1944.<ref name="whitburnr&b">{{cite book |title=Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004 |last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2004 |publisher=Record Research |page=469}}</ref>  In December 1945, she made a series of 12 recordings for [[Apollo Records (1944)|Apollo Records]], 10 of which were issued, featuring the [[Lucky Thompson]] All Stars.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Rotante |first=Anthony |date=February 1955 |title=Blues and Rhythm |magazine=Record Research |location=New York |page=3}}</ref>

[[File:Dinah Washington 1952.jpg|alt=portrait of Dinah Washington, 1952|thumb|Dinah Washington in 1952|left]]

===Solo recordings and hits===
She stayed with Hampton's band until 1946, after the Keynote label folded, and signed for [[Mercury Records]] as a solo singer. Her first record for Mercury, a version of [[Fats Waller]]'s "[[Ain't Misbehavin' (song)|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) [[Crossover (music)|crossed over]] to reach Number 22 on the [[Hot 100|US Pop Chart]].<ref name="whitburnr&b" /> Her hit recordings included blues, standards, novelties, pop covers, and even a version of [[Hank Williams]]' "[[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]] and [[Ben Webster]].<ref name="allmusic" /><ref name="halloffame" />

In 1950, Washington performed at the sixth Cavalcade of Jazz concert held at [[Wrigley Field (Los Angeles)|Wrigley Field]] in Los Angeles which was produced by [[Leon Hefflin, Sr.]] on June 25. Also featured on the same day were [[Lionel Hampton]], [[Pee Wee Crayton|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".<ref>{{cite news |title=Dinah Washington Joins 'Hamp' in 'Cavalcade of Jazz' |work=Los Angeles Sentinel |date=June 15, 1950 |page=}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title='Cavalcade of Jazz Attended by 16,000' Review |work=Los Angeles Sentinel |date=June 29, 1950 |page= }}</ref> Washington returned to perform at the twelfth [[Cavalcade of Jazz]] also at [[Wrigley Field (Los Angeles)|Wrigley Field]] in Los Angeles on September 2, 1956. Also performing that day were [[Little Richard]], The Mel Williams Dots, Julie Stevens, [[Chuck Higgins|Chuck Higgins']] Orchestra, [[Bo Rhambo]], Willie Hayden & Five Black Birds, The Premiers, [[Gerald Wilson]] and His 20-Pc. Recording Orchestra and [[Jerry Gray (arranger)|Jerry Gray]] and his Orchestra.<ref>{{cite news |title=12th Cavalcade of Jazz At Wrigley Field Sept. 2 |work=Los Angeles Sentinel |date=July 26, 1956 |page= }}</ref>

In 1959, she had her first top ten pop hit, with a version of "[[What a Diff'rence a Day Makes]]",<ref>{{Gilliland|url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc19767/m1/ |title=Show 17 – The Soul Reformation: More on the evolution of rhythm and blues. [Part 3&#93;|website=Digital.library.unt.edu|date=May 28, 2013 |access-date=June 10, 2013}}</ref> which made Number 4 on the US pop chart. Her band at that time included arranger and conductor [[Belford Hendricks]], with [[Kenny Burrell]] (guitar), [[Joe Zawinul]] (piano), and [[David "Panama" Francis|Panama Francis]] (drums). She followed it up with a version of [[Irving Gordon]]'s "[[Unforgettable (Irving Gordon song)|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).<ref name="whitburnr&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."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.metrolyrics.com/long-john-blues-lyrics-bette-midler.html |title=Bette Midler – Long John Blues Lyrics |website=MetroLyrics.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161214152722/http://www.metrolyrics.com/long-john-blues-lyrics-bette-midler.html|archive-date=2016-12-14|url-status=unfit|access-date=May 12, 2016}}</ref> She also recorded a song called "[[Big Long Slidin' Thing]]", supposedly about a trombonist.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/b/biglongslidinthing.shtml |title=Big Long Slidin' Thing – Lyrics |website=Lyricsplayground.com |date=October 10, 2007 |access-date=May 12, 2016}}</ref>

Washington was well known for singing [[torch song]]s.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://theater2.nytimes.com/mem/theater/treview.html?pagewanted=print&res=9E07EFDB113AF934A35757C0A96E958260 |title=Theatre Review |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=June 27, 2014}} {{subscription required}}</ref> 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".<ref name="Nadine Cohodas 2004" />

One source states that Washington "produced 45 R&B-charted hits between 1948 and 1961, including 16 Top 15 placements between 1948 and 1950".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.goldminemag.com/articles/1940s-musicians-laid-the-cornerstone-for-rock-n-roll|title=1940s musicians laid the cornerstone for rock 'n' roll|website=Goldminemag.com |date=September 29, 2011 |access-date=June 10, 2021}}</ref>

===Appraisals and notable performances===
In the 1950s and early 1960s before her death, Washington occasionally performed on the Las Vegas Strip. [[Tony Bennett]] said of Washington during a recording session with [[Amy Winehouse]]: 
{{blockquote|She was a good friend of mine, you know. She was great. She used to just come in with two suitcases in Vegas without being booked...And she'd stay as long as she wanted. And all the kids in all the shows on the Strip would come that night. They'd hear that she's in town and it would be packed just for her performance.}}

According to Richard S. Ginell at AllMusic:<ref name=allmusic />
{{blockquote|[Washington] was at once one of the most beloved and controversial singers of the mid-20th century – beloved to her fans, devotees, and fellow singers; controversial to critics who still accuse her of selling out her art to commerce and bad taste. Her principal sin, apparently, was to cultivate a distinctive vocal style that was at home in all kinds of music, be it R&B, blues, jazz, middle of the road pop – and she probably would have made a fine gospel or country singer had she the time. Hers was a gritty, salty, high-pitched voice, marked by absolute clarity of diction and clipped, bluesy phrasing.}}

Washington's achievements included appearances at the [[Newport Jazz Festival]] (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 (jazz club)|Birdland]] (1958, 1961–1962), and performances in 1963 with [[Count Basie]] and [[Duke Ellington]].