Musicians: Dinah Washington

Episode Summary

Dinah Washington was born Ruth Lee Jones in 1924 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Her family later moved to Chicago where she learned piano and singing from her mother at church. By age 15, she won a talent competition at the Regal Theater in Chicago. At 18, she was discovered by a talent manager who introduced her to bandleader Lionel Hampton. She began performing with Hampton's orchestra under the stage name Dinah Washington. In 1946, Dinah went solo and signed with Mercury Records. Over the next decade, she became one of the most popular R&B singers with over 25 top 10 hits. Her song "Baby Get Lost" hit #1 on the charts in 1949. She recorded acclaimed jazz albums and performed with Count Basie, Duke Ellington and others. Her song "What a Difference a Day Makes" won a Grammy in 1959 and crossed over into pop. Dinah died suddenly in 1963 at age 39. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. Her influential music helped bring blues into the mainstream.

Episode Show Notes

Dinah Washington (1924-1963) rocketed to stardom in the 1950s. Her distinctive blues, jazz and R&B music topped the charts, earning her the title ‘Queen of the Blues.'

Episode Transcript

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Her distinctive blues, jazz, and R&B music topped the charts, earning her the title, Queen of the Blues. Let's talk about Dinah Washington. Dinah Washington was born Ruth Lee Jones on August 29th, 1924 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. When she was young, her family moved to Chicago where her mother joined the music ministry at their local church. Ruth learned how to play piano and sing from her mother and quickly joined her church's choir. By age 11, she was traveling across the country singing gospel at church recitals. When Ruth was 15, she won a talent competition at Chicago's Regal Theater. From there, she began singing in nightclubs across Chicago. In 1943, when Ruth was 18, a talent manager named Joe Glaser heard her singing at a club. Impressed with her vocals, Joe introduced her to Lionel Hampton, who led a renowned orchestra that sang at the Regal Theater. Lionel offered her a job and she began performing with Lionel's orchestra under a new name, Dinah Washington. Dinah toured with Lionel for three years. She recorded some of her first hit songs during that time, like her song, Evil Gal Blues, which appeared in Billboard Magazine's Harlem Hit Parade. With her gritty, high-pitched voice, Dinah had a unique vocal style that bent genres. She sang R&B, blues, jazz, and pop. Her songs were varied, but often contained themes of love, heartbreak, and women wronged. These themes were personal to her own life. Over the course of her career, Dinah herself would be married at least six times. In 1946, Dinah signed a record deal with Mercury Records and went solo. From there, her career skyrocketed. From 1948 to 1955, she had over 25 R&B top 10 hits, making her one of the most popular singers of the time. In 1949, her song, Baby Get Lost, hit number one on the Billboard charts. And in 1952, she had a number four hit with Trouble in Mind. Throughout her career, Dinah recorded with acclaimed jazz musicians. In 1955, legendary Quincy Jones arranged her album, Dinah Washington, for those in love. Later, Quincy Jones wrote that Dinah could take the melody in her hand, hold it like an egg, crack it open, fry it, let it sizzle, reconstruct it, put the egg back in the box and back in the refrigerator, and you would have still understood every single syllable. Dinah's success kept her touring across the country, singing at large jazz festivals, and performing with celebrated musicians like Count Basie and Duke Ellington. In 1959, Dinah crossed over to pop records with her song, What a Difference a Day Makes. The song is largely considered to be one of her greatest commercial successes, and it won her a Grammy Award for Best R&B Record. When Dinah was just 39 years old, she died of an accidental overdose in 1963. After her death, her music continued to be influential in ushering blues into the mainstream. In 1993, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and three of her songs have been added to the Grammy Hall of Fame. All month long, we're highlighting Black musicians. Wamanaka is a Wonder Media Network production. Special thanks to co-creators Jenny and Liz Kaplan, who invited me to guest host this month. Talk to you tomorrow. SPEAKER_08: Get two year financing on Go5G Plus and Next. One year upgrade on Go5G Next requires financing new qualifying device and upgrading in good condition after six plus months with 50% paid off. Upgrade ends financing in any promo credits. See T-Mobile.com. An epic matchup between your two favorite teams, SPEAKER_05: and you're at the game getting the most from what it means to be here with American Express. You breeze through the card member entrance, stop by the lounge, now it's almost tip off, and everyone's already on their feet. This is gonna be good. 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