Singer and pianist Dinah Washington, called “the most popular black female recording artist of the ‘50s,” was born on this date in 1924. Born Ruth Lee Jones in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, she sang and played the piano for her church choir. In 1939, she began to sing and play piano in various Chicago nightclubs, in addition to touring with Sallie Martins gospel group. From 1943 to 1946, she sang with the Lionel Hampton band and in 1946 began a successful solo career. From 1949 to 1955, her recordings were consistently among the top ten hits of the rhythm-and-blues charts. In 1959, she had her first top ten pop hit, with a version of What a Diffrence a Day Made (see below), which peaked at #4. She followed it up with a version of Irving Gordons Unforgettable, and then two highly successful duets in 1960 with Brook Benton, Baby (Youve 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). According to one critic, 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... Tragically, on December 14, 1963, Washingtons seventh husband, football great Dick Night Train Lane, went to sleep with his wife, and awoke later to find her slumped over and not responsive. She was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy later showed a lethal combination of secobarbital and amobarbital, which contributed to her death at the age of 39.
Posted on: Fri, 29 Aug 2014 16:25:43 +0000
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