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Dinah Washington
The versatile vocalist Dinah Washington was born Ruth Lee Jones in Tuscaloosa Alabama on August 29th 1924. She grew up in Chicago where her family moved in 1928.
Her mother was heavily involved in church community centered around St Luke’s Baptist and Dinah was surrounded by gospel and church music since her early childhood. She exhibited musical talents at an early age and was part of the church choir playing the piano and singing gospel in her early teens. At age 15, enamored by Billie Holiday, she started playing and singing the blues in local clubs and made quite a name for herself. In 1942 Lionel Hampton heard her and hired her for to front his band. Hampton claims that it was he who gave her the name Dinah Washington but other sources disagree.
Some suggest the talent agent Joe Glaser suggested the new name and others cite the manager of the bar where she was performing at the time as the person who recommended it. This was also the year when she married her firs husband; John Young (she would marry 6 more times). She remained with Lionel Hampton from 1943-1946 and during this tenure made her recording debut, a blues session produced by Leonard Feather for Keynote records. She became quite popular both as the band singer for Hampton and as a solo artist. She used her new found financial success to buy a home for her mother and sister. She left Hampton’s orchestra early 1946 while she was living in LA and shortly afterwards recorded blues sides for the small Apollo label. Her big break came very shortly afterwards when she signed with Mercury label on January 14 1946. During her stay with Mercury she recorded a number of top ten hits in a multitude of genres including blues, R&B, pop, standards, novelties, even country. She never was strictly a jazz singer but did record number of jazz sessions with some of the most influential musicians of the day including Cannonball Adderley, Clark Terry, and Ben Webster. Her most memorable jazz recording is with Clifford Brown; the classic Dinah Jams from 1955.
After the unexpected commercial success of "What a Diff'rence a Day Makes," in 1959, which marked Washington’s breakthrough into the mainstream pop and won her a Grammy; she stopped recording blues and jazz songs and concentrated on more easy listening tunes characterized by lush orchestrations.
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by Mary Foster Conklin
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by Nic Jones
In these days of photogenic warblers putting out the standards with only a negligible grasp of individuality and little in the way of interpretive skill, Dinah Washington continues to put a smile on your face before she's even got through the first line of a song. Evil Gal is a trawl through the sides she cut in the first half of the 1950s, and there isn't a song here that finds her in less than sublime form. It might almost ...
read moreDinah Washington: 'Bargain Day'
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
I wish someone would discover previously unreleased live Dinah Washington recordings. She was such a towering force in popular music, matched only by Nat King Cole. In the late 1940s, after leaving Lionel Hampton's band in 1945, she soon became known as “Queen of the Jukebox"—for her large number of hits and for her forceful voice that came blaring through small jukebox speakers. One of my favorites by Washington is Bargain Day, which was recorded during a session for her ...
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Dinah Washington on Video
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Of all the many female jazz singers, Dinah Washington remains the most contemporary. Her voice was always cocked and loaded, her phrasing was akin to the sound of a getaway car, and her attitude told you she was not only charge but that you didn't really have a say. Washington was the embodiment of the crossover singer-storyteller—sliding effortlessly between R&B, jazz and pop without ever giving up her soul. Unfortunately, too few of her performances exist on film. The problem ...
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Source:
Michael Ricci
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Dinah Washington: Singles (1943-53)
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
There never was any doubt that Dinah Washington was going to be a star. The big surprise was how fast celebrity came and how far she went in the 78-rpm era. In three short years after leaving Lionel Hampton's band in late '45, Washington was crowned Queen of the Jukebox by music critics based on revenue from the machines, earning her a fortune in the process. The Fabulous Miss D: The Keynote, Decca & Mercury Singles 1943-1953—a new four-CD set ...
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Source:
St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
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Source:
All About Jazz
After spending much of the past year devoted to her first film project, Frances Nero returns to the music scene with a delicious tribute to Dinah Washington. The new release offers Frances' fresh yet classic take on beloved standards made popular by the Queen of the Blues herself. The limited edition CD will be available for purchase on June 1, 2007 at www.cdbaby.com/francesnero. You can purchase direct from Frances by visiting www.francesnero.com. Lifetime members of her fan club will also ...
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LaRe Sings the Blues at Crossroads July 26 in Memory of Dinah Washington
Source:
All About Jazz
Four-Time Award-Winning (Billboard Magazine) Jazz Singer-Songwriter Sings the Blues
Crossroads presents LaRe sings the Blues in memory of Ms. Dinah Washington
Crossroads 480 Amsterdam Ave/83rd st Upper West Side, NYC Wed July 26th 8-10pm 212-874-9984
No reservations required bar/lounge no cover live performance 8-10pm
Join LaRe at Crossroads with ASCAP winner Jessie Elder on piano for a night of the ...
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Source:
All About Jazz
This music, from the final stage of Dinah Washington's short and turbulent life, is a perfect snapshot of all she was in performance -- the brash belter, claiming and proclaiming her measure of fun and gaiety; the spurned lover, earnestly searching for one more chance, or determinedly wiping the slate clean of all romance; the wry commentator, knowingly chronicling the world's troubles as only she could observe them; and the optimistic dreamer, surrendering to the beauties of life. After 15 ...
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Changamire
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Dinah Washington
Instrument: Vocals
Born: August 29, 1924
Died: December 14, 1963
