| Dinah Washington | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Ruth Lee Jones |
| Also known as | Queen of the Blues |
| Born | August 29, 1924 |
| Origin | Tuscaloosa, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | December 14, 1963 (aged 39) |
| Genres | Blues, R&B, Jazz |
| Occupations | Singer |
| Years active | 1943–1963 |
| Labels | Keynote, Mercury, EmArcy, Roulette |
Dinah Washington (August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was a blues, R&B and jazz singer. She is a 1986 inductee of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame.[1] Washington was well known for singing torch songs.[2] A 40-song box set titled "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" was released in 1999.
Contents |
In 1962, Dinah hired a backing trio that called themselves the Allegros. The male trio consisted of Jimmy Thomas on drums, Earl Edwards on sax, and Jimmy Sigler on organ. Edwards was eventually replaced by John Payne on sax. A Variety writer praised their vocals as "effective choruses".[3] They became close to the singer and saw her the night she died.
Washington was married eight times and divorced seven times, while having several lovers, including, according to Patti Austin, Quincy Jones.[4] She had two children. Her husbands were John Young (1942–43), George Jenkins (1949), Walter Buchanan (1950), saxophonist Eddie Chamblee (1957), Rafael Campos (1957), Horatio Maillard (1959–60), Jackie Hayes (1960), and Dick "Night Train" Lane (1963).
Very early on the morning of December 14, 1963, Dinah's eighth husband, NFL player Dick "Night Train" Lane went to sleep with his wife and awoke later to find Dinah slumped over and not responsive. Doctor B. C. Ross came to the scene to pronounce her dead.[5] An autopsy later showed a lethal combination of secobarbital and amobarbital which contributed to her untimely death at the age of 39. She is buried in the Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois.
Unforgettable: A Tribute to Dinah Washington is a 1964 album by recorded by Aretha Franklin as a tribute. Dinah Washington Park in Chicago, Illinois was also named for her.
| Year | Category | Title | Genre |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Best Rhythm & Blues Performance | What a Diff'rence a Day Makes | R&B |
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 twenty-five years old, and that have "qualitative or historical significance."[6]
| Year | Title | Genre | Label | Year Inducted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Unforgettable | Pop (Single) | Mercury | 2001 |
| 1954 | Teach Me Tonight | R&B (Single) | Mercury | 1999 |
| 1959 | What a Diff'rence a Day Makes | Traditional Pop (Single) | Mercury | 1998 |
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame listed a song of Dinah Washington as one of the 500 songs that shaped rock.[7]
| Year Recorded | Title | Genre |
|---|---|---|
| 1948 | Am I Asking Too Much? | R&B |
| Year | Title | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Rock and Roll Hall of Fame | Inducted | Early Influences |
| 1984 | Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame | Inducted |
| Year | Song | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B | UK | ||
| 1944 | "Salty Papa Blues" | 8 | ||
| "Evil Gal Blues" | 9 | |||
| 1948 | "Ain't Misbehavin'" | 6 | ||
| "West Side Baby" | 7 | |||
| "Walkin' and Talkin'" | 13 | |||
| "I Want to Cry" | 11 | |||
| "Resolution Blues" | 15 | |||
| "Am I Asking Too Much" | 1 | |||
| "It's Too Soon To Know" | 2 | |||
| 1949 | "You Satisfy" | 8 | ||
| "Baby Get Lost" | 1 | |||
| "Good Daddy Blues" | 9 | |||
| "Long John Blues" | 3 | |||
| 1950 | "I Only Know" | 3 | ||
| "It Isn't Fair" | 5 | |||
| "I Wanna Be Loved" | 22 | 5 | ||
| "I'll Never Be Free" | 3 | |||
| "Time Out For Tears" | 6 | |||
| 1951 | "Harbor Lights" | 10 | ||
| "My Heart Cries for You" | 7 | |||
| "I Won't Cry Anymore" | 6 | |||
| "Cold, Cold Heart" | 3 | |||
| 1952 | "Wheel of Fortune" | 3 | ||
| "Tell Me Why" | 7 | |||
| "Trouble in Mind" | 4 | |||
| "New Blowtop Blues" | 5 | |||
| 1953 | "TV is the Thing This Year" | 3 | ||
| "Fat Daddy" | 10 | |||
| 1954 | "I Don't Hurt Anymore" | 3 | ||
| "Dream" | 9 | |||
| "Teach Me Tonight" | 23 | 4 | ||
| 1955 | "I Concentrate on You" | 11 | ||
| "I Diddie" | 14 | |||
| "If It's the Last Thing I Do" | 13 | |||
| "That's All I Want from You" | 8 | |||
| "You Might Have Told Me" | 14 | |||
| 1956 | "I'm Lost Without You Tonight" | 13 | ||
| "Soft Winds" | 13 | |||
| 1958 | "Make Me a Present of You" | 27 | ||
| 1959 | "What a Difference a Day Made" | 8 | 4 | |
| "Unforgettable" | 17 | 15 | ||
| 1960 | "Baby (You've Got What It Takes)" (w/ Brook Benton) | 5 | 1 | |
| "A Rockin' Good Way (To Mess Around and Fall in Love)" (w/ Brook Benton) | 7 | 1 | ||
| "This Bitter Earth" | 24 | 1 | ||
| "Love Walked In" | 30 | 16 | ||
| "It Could Happen To You" | 53 | |||
| 1961 | "September in the Rain" | 23* | 5 | 35 |
| 1962 | "Tears and Laughter" | 71* | ||
| "Cold, Cold Heart" (new version of 1951 hit) | 96 | |||
| "Dream" (new version of 1954 hit) | 92 | |||
| "I Want to Be Loved" (new version of 1950 hit) | 76 | |||
| "Where Are You" | 36* | |||
| "You're a Sweetheart" | 98 | |||
| "You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You" | 87 | |||
| 1963 | "Soulville" | 92 | ||
| 1992 | "Mad About the Boy" | 41 | ||