The Dinah Washington Centennial

Born 100 years ago today, blues, jazz and pop vocalist Dinah Washington (Ruth Lee Jones, 1924-1963).

Washington started out singing and playing piano with gospel choirs in her native Tuscaloosa. She was only 15 when she won a singing competition in Chicago, prompting a career in area night clubs starting in the 1940s. Her recording career began in 1944, launching a long string of hits on the R&B charts.

The 1959 single “What a Diff’rence a Day Made” won her a Grammy, and put her over onto the pop charts, scoring a #8 hit there. Tony Bennett, a friend and fan of Washington’s, later covered the tune. Her version of the song has been used in dozens of movies, including, most notably Martin Scorsese’sCasino (1995). She followed this up with a cover of Nat King Cole’s 1951 hit “Unforgettable”, her version going to #17. Her two biggest pop hits, both duets with Brook Benton, were “Baby (You’ve Got What it Takes)” (#5), and “A Rockin’ Good Way (to Mess Around and Fall in Love)” (#7). Her 1961 cover of “September in the Rain” went to #23, and also charted in the UK, leading me to wonder if that is what inspired the Beatles to work up their own cover version around that time. (You must admit it is an odd selection for a rock and roll group).

Steve Allen, a great lover and supporter of black music, had Washington on The Tonight Show a few times in the mid-50s. She was also on American Bandstand and a handful of other variety shows.

Sadly, Washington’s time at the top was brief. In December, 1963 she accidentally O.D.’d on prescription sleeping pills. This occurred in the midst of massive change in the nation. The March on Washington had happened in late summer. Kennedy had been assassinated just a couple of weeks before. The U.S. release of “I Want to Hold Your Hand” was just days away. How Dinah Washington’s music would have evolved in the years that followed is interesting to speculate about. As is the question of whether or not she’d have added to her store of husbands. She may have had as many as nine, although only seven are documented. Her last one, NFL cornerback Dick “Night Train” Lane had the sad experience of finding her the morning she passed.

A friend of a friend is working on a photo exhibition and a bio-pic about Dinah Washington as I pen this. You can learn about her project here.

For more on show biz history,consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, And please stay tuned for my upcomingElectric Vaudeville: A Century of Radio and TV Variety.