Editing Dinah Washington

{{short description|American singer, songwriter, pianist (1924–1963)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{redirect|The Queen of the Blues|the Chicago Blues singer|Koko Taylor|Taylor's album|Queen of the Blues{{!}}''Queen of the Blues''}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name            = Dinah Washington
| image           = Dinah Washington 1962.jpg
| caption         = Washington in 1962
| birth_name      = Ruth Lee Jones
| birth_date      = {{Birth date|1924|8|29}}
| birth_place     = [[Tuscaloosa, Alabama|Tuscaloosa]], Alabama, U.S.
| origin          = [[Chicago]], Illinois, U.S.
| death_date      = {{Death date and age|1963|12|14|1924|8|29}}
| death_place     = [[Detroit]], Michigan, U.S.
| instrument      = {{flatlist|
*[[Vocals]]
*[[piano]]
*[[vibraphone]]}}
| genre           = {{flatlist|
*[[Jazz]]
*[[blues]]
*[[Rhythm and blues|R&B]]
*[[gospel music|gospel]]
*[[traditional pop]]}}
| occupation      = {{hlist|Singer|musician}}
| years_active    = 1941–1963
| label           = {{flatlist|
*[[Keynote Records|Keynote]]
*[[Mercury Records|Mercury]]
*[[EmArcy Records|EmArcy]]
*[[Roulette Records|Roulette]]}}
}}

'''Dinah Washington''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|aɪ|n|ə|}}; 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.<ref name=allmusic>{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/dinah-washington-p7773/biography |title=Dinah Washington |website=AllMusic |access-date=June 27, 2014}}</ref> Primarily a [[jazz]] vocalist, she performed and recorded in a wide variety of styles including [[blues]], [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]], and [[traditional pop|traditional pop music]],<ref name=allmusic /> and gave herself the title of "Queen of the Blues".<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ssMBzqrUpjwC&q=%22dinah+washington%22+%22queen+of+the+blues%22&pg=PA49 |title=Notable Black American Women |via= Google Books |isbn= 9780810391772 |access-date=June 27, 2014|last1= Carney Smith |first1=Jessie |year=1992 |publisher=VNR AG }}</ref> She was also known as "Queen of the Jukeboxes".<ref name=NPR/> 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]], to Alice and Ollie Jones,<ref>{{Cite news |url= https://www.chicagotribune.com/1992/10/01/alice-jones-87-was-music-director-for-illinois-baptists/ |title=Alice Jones, 87 |newspaper= Chicago Tribune |access-date=December 20, 2016}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/dinah-wasand-wasnt/Content?oid=901004 |title=Dinah Was...and Wasn't |last=Joravsky |first=Ben |work= Chicago Reader |date= December 16, 1999|access-date=December 20, 2016 }}</ref> When she joined the Sallie Martin group, she dropped out of [[Wendell Phillips Academy High School|Wendell Phillips High School]]. She sang lead with the first female gospel singers formed by [[Sallie Martin]],<ref>{{cite encyclopedia| last1= Bogdanov | first1= Vladimir | first2= Chris |last2= Woodstra| first3= Stephen Thomas |last3= Erlewine| title= Sallie Martin| encyclopedia= All Music Guide to the Blues: The Definitive Guide to the Blues| year= 2003 | page= 373| publisher= Backbeat Books |isbn= 0-87930-736-6}}</ref> 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, Chicago|Regal Theater]] where she sang "I Can't Face the Music".<ref name="Nadine Cohodas 2004">{{cite book| first= Nadine |last= Cohodas| title= Queen: The Life and Music of Dinah Washington| publisher= Random House| year= 2004 |isbn= 978-0375421488}}</ref>

==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]].

==Personal life and death==
[[File:Grave of Dinah Washington (1924–1963) at Burr Oak Cemetery.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Washington's grave at Burr Oak Cemetery]]
Washington was married seven times,<ref name=NPR>{{cite web |title=Dinah Washington: A Queen in Turmoil |url=https://www.npr.org/2004/08/29/3872390/dinah-washington-a-queen-in-turmoil |website= npr.org |publisher= National Public Radio |date=August 29, 2004 |access-date=February 9, 2020}}</ref><ref name="Encyclopedia7">{{Cite web |title=Washington, Dinah (1924–1963) {{!}} Encyclopedia.com |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/washington-dinah-1924-1963 |access-date=2025-03-14 |website=www.encyclopedia.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Dinah Washington and Quincy Jones |url=https://digital.nepr.net/music/2013/09/26/dinah-washington-and-quincy-jones/ |access-date=2025-03-14 |website=digital.nepr.net}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Loudon |first=Christopher |date=2024-07-02 |title=Queen: The Life and Music of Dinah Washington by Nadine Cohodas |url=https://jazztimes.com/reviews/books/queen-the-life-and-music-of-dinah-washington-by-nadine-cohodas/ |access-date=2025-03-14 |website=JazzTimes |language=en-US}}</ref> although according to other sources she had six,<ref>{{cite news|title=Night Train, Dinah Wed|newspaper=Detroit Free Press|date=July 3, 1963|page=2C|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/6820607/night_train_dinah_wed/|via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}</ref> eight<ref>{{Cite web |title=Washington, Dinah |url=https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/dinah-washington/ |access-date=2025-03-14 |website=Encyclopedia of Alabama |language=en-US}}</ref> or nine<ref name="Encyclopedia9">{{Cite web |title=Dinah Washington {{!}} Encyclopedia.com |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biographies/dinah-washington |access-date=2025-03-14 |website=www.encyclopedia.com}}</ref> husbands.

Early in the morning of December 14, 1963, Washington's last husband, football player [[Night Train Lane|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.<ref name="Nadine Cohodas 2004" /> An autopsy later showed a lethal combination of [[secobarbital]] and [[amobarbital]], prescriptions for her insomnia and diet, which contributed to her death.<ref name=NPR/> She is buried in the [[Burr Oak Cemetery]] in Alsip, Illinois.

==Awards==
;Grammy Award
{| class=wikitable
|-
! Year
! Category
! Title
! Genre
|- align=center
| 1959
| Best Rhythm & Blues Performance
| "[[What a Diff'rence a Day Made|What a Diff'rence a Day Makes]]"
| R&B
|}

;Grammy Hall of Fame
Recordings by Dinah Washington were inducted into the [[Grammy Hall of Fame Award|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."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grammy.org/recording-academy/awards/hall-of-fame |title=GRAMMY Hall Of Fame |publisher=GRAMMY.org |access-date=June 27, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110122042616/http://www.grammy.org/recording-academy/awards/hall-of-fame |archive-date=January 22, 2011 }}</ref>

{| class=wikitable
|-
! Year
! Title
! Genre
! Label
! Year Inducted
|- align=center
| 1959
| "[[Unforgettable (Irving Gordon song)|Unforgettable]]"
| pop (single)
| Mercury
| 2001
|- align=center
| 1954
| "[[Teach Me Tonight]]"
| R&B (single)
| Mercury
| 1999
|- align=center
| 1959
| "[[What a Diff'rence a Day Made|What a Diff'rence a Day Makes]]"
| traditional pop (single)
| Mercury
| 1998
|}

;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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://rockhall.com/exhibits/one-hit-wonders-songs-that-shaped-rock-and-roll/ |title=Experience The Music: One Hit Wonders and The Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll &#124; The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum |publisher=Rockhall.com |date=April 15, 2013 |access-date=June 27, 2014}}</ref>

{| class=wikitable
|-
! Year
! Title
! Genre
|- align=center
| 1953
| "TV Is the Thing (This Year)"
| R&B
|}

;Honors and Inductions
* ''[[Unforgettable: A Tribute to Dinah Washington]]'' is a 1964 album recorded by [[Aretha Franklin]] as a tribute.
* In 1993, the [[List of people on stamps of the United States|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."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20081208/NEWS/812089970/ |title=Odetta should be memorialized |publisher=TuscaloosaNews.com |access-date=June 27, 2014}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20090313/NEWS/903132984 |title=Tuscaloosa unveils Dinah Washington Avenue |publisher=TuscaloosaNews.com |date=March 13, 2009 |access-date=June 27, 2014}}</ref>
* 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."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20130829/NEWS/130829746?p=1&tc=pg |title=Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center ready for its debut in downtown Tuscaloosa |publisher=TuscaloosaNews.com |access-date=June 27, 2014}}</ref>
[[File:Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center.jpg|thumb|left|The Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.]]
{{clear}}

{| class=wikitable
|-
! Year
! Title
! Result
! Notes
|- align=center
| 1993
| [[List of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees|Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]]
| Inducted
| Early Influences
|- align=center
| 1984
| [[Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame]]
| Inducted
|
|}

==Album discography==
{{Main|Dinah Washington discography}}
{{columns-list|
* ''[[After Hours with Miss "D"]]'' (1954)
* ''[[Dinah Jams]]'' (1955)
* ''[[For Those in Love]]'' (1955)
* ''[[Dinah! (Dinah Washington album)|Dinah!]]'' (1956)
* ''[[In the Land of Hi-Fi (Dinah Washington album)|In the Land of Hi-Fi]]'' (1956)
* ''[[The Swingin' Miss "D"]]'' (1957)
* ''[[Dinah Washington Sings Fats Waller]]'' (1957)
* ''[[Dinah Sings Bessie Smith]]'' (1958)
* ''[[Newport '58]]'' (1958)
* ''[[What a Diff'rence a Day Makes!]]'' (1959)
* ''[[September in the Rain (album)|September In The Rain]]'' (1960)
* ''[[Unforgettable (Dinah Washington album)|Unforgettable]]'' (1961)
* ''[[Drinking Again (album)|Drinking Again]]'' (1962)
* ''[[Tears and Laughter (Dinah Washington)|Tears and Laughter]]'' (1962)
* ''[[Back to the Blues (Dinah Washington album)|Back to the Blues]]'' (1963)
* ''[[Dinah '63]]'' (1963)
* ''[[This Is My Story (Dinah Washington album)|This Is My Story]]'' (1963)
* ''[[Late, Late Show]]'' (1963)
* ''[[A Stranger on Earth]]'' (1964)
}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=_jYGhgj1CrgC Queen: The Life and Music of Dinah Washington]'', Nadine Cohodas, 2004, Pantheon Books 
* ''Queen of the Blues: A Biography of Dinah Washington'', [[James Haskins|Jim Haskins]], 1987, William Morrow & Co. {{ISBN|0-688-04846-3}}
* ''Top Pop Records 1955–1972'', Joel Whitburn, 1973, Record Research.

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20101114051601/http://www.vervemusicgroup.com/Dinahwashington Dinah Washington : Home], [[Verve Music Group]]
* {{Rockhall}}

{{Dinah Washington}}
{{1993 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Washington, Dinah}}
[[Category:Dinah Washington| ]]
[[Category:1924 births]]
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[[Category:20th-century American women singers]]
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[[Category:Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients]]
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[[Category:Dirty blues musicians]]
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