Ruth Lee Jones (born August 29, 1924 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama; died December … Read Full Bio ↴Ruth Lee Jones (born August 29, 1924 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama; died December 14, 1963 in Detroit, Michigan), better known by her stage name Dinah Washington and also as the Queen of the Blues, was an American Grammy award winning jazz singer best known for singing classic torch songs and her hit single What a Diff'rence a Day Makes. Her penetrating voice, excellent timing, and crystal-clear enunciation added her own distinctive style to every piece she undertook. While making extraordinary recordings in jazz, blues, rhythm and blues and light pop contexts, Washington refused to record gospel music despite her obvious talent in singing it, as she believed it wrong to mix the secular and spiritual.
Washington was born Ruth Jones in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. As she was growing up in Chicago, she played piano and directed her church choir. Later, she studied in Walter Dyett's renowned music program at DuSable High School. For a while, she split her time between performing in clubs as Dinah Washington while singing and playing piano in Salle Martin's gospel choir as Ruth Jones.
Washington began performing in 1942 and soon joined Lionel Hampton's band. In 1943, she began recording for Keynote Records and released "Evil Gal Blues", her first hit. By 1955, she had released numerous hit songs on the R&B charts, including "Baby, Get Lost", "Trouble in Mind", "You Don't Know What Love Is" (arranged by Quincy Jones), and a cover of "Cold, Cold Heart" by Hank Williams. In 1958 she made a well-received appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival.
With "What a Diff'rence a Day Makes" 1959, Washington won a Grammy Award for Best Rhythm and Blues Performance; the song was her biggest hit, reaching #8 on the Billboard Hot 100. The commercially driven album of the same name, with its heavily reliance on strings and wordless choruses, was slammed by jazz and blues critics as being far too commercial, not keeping with her blues roots. Despite this, the album was a huge success and Washington continued to favor more commercial, pop-oriented songs rather than traditional blues and jazz songs. She also dealt in torch songs; her rendition of The Platters' "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" was well-regarded.
She was married seven times, and divorced six times while having several lovers, including Quincy Jones, her young arranger. She was known to be imperious and demanding in real life, but audiences loved her. In London she once declared, "...there is only one heaven, one earth and one queen...Queen Elizabeth is an impostor", but the crowd loved it.
Dinah Washington died from an accidental overdose of diet pills and alcohol at the age of 39 in 1963.
Washington was born Ruth Jones in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. As she was growing up in Chicago, she played piano and directed her church choir. Later, she studied in Walter Dyett's renowned music program at DuSable High School. For a while, she split her time between performing in clubs as Dinah Washington while singing and playing piano in Salle Martin's gospel choir as Ruth Jones.
Washington began performing in 1942 and soon joined Lionel Hampton's band. In 1943, she began recording for Keynote Records and released "Evil Gal Blues", her first hit. By 1955, she had released numerous hit songs on the R&B charts, including "Baby, Get Lost", "Trouble in Mind", "You Don't Know What Love Is" (arranged by Quincy Jones), and a cover of "Cold, Cold Heart" by Hank Williams. In 1958 she made a well-received appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival.
With "What a Diff'rence a Day Makes" 1959, Washington won a Grammy Award for Best Rhythm and Blues Performance; the song was her biggest hit, reaching #8 on the Billboard Hot 100. The commercially driven album of the same name, with its heavily reliance on strings and wordless choruses, was slammed by jazz and blues critics as being far too commercial, not keeping with her blues roots. Despite this, the album was a huge success and Washington continued to favor more commercial, pop-oriented songs rather than traditional blues and jazz songs. She also dealt in torch songs; her rendition of The Platters' "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" was well-regarded.
She was married seven times, and divorced six times while having several lovers, including Quincy Jones, her young arranger. She was known to be imperious and demanding in real life, but audiences loved her. In London she once declared, "...there is only one heaven, one earth and one queen...Queen Elizabeth is an impostor", but the crowd loved it.
Dinah Washington died from an accidental overdose of diet pills and alcohol at the age of 39 in 1963.
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The Best of the Roulette Years
Dinah Washington Lyrics
Baby Won't You Please Come Home Baby won't you please come home? 'Cause your daddy's all alo…
Call Me Irresponsible Call me irresponsible Call me unreliable Go on and throw in,…
Destination Moon Come and take a trip in my rocket ship We'll have…
Drinking Again Ooh, it's almost two And I'm sitting here wishing that…
Fly Me to the Moon Fly me to the moon - Julie London Fly me to…
For All We Know For all we know We may never meet again Before you go Make…
He's My Guy He's my guy, I don't care what he does Cause he's…
I'll Close My Eyes Heaven sends A song through its doors Just as if…
Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby I got a man that's always late Any time we have…
It's a Mean Old Man's World Oh when you hear a woman, hear a woman cry And…
Let Me Be The First To Know Like one more time if our love ever grows cold And…
Me and My Gin Stay away from me 'Cause I'm in my sin I said stay…
Nobody Knows The Way I Feel This Morning Nobody knows the way I feel This morning, this morning Nobod…
Red Sails in the Sunset {Red sails in the sunset, way out on the sea} Oh,…
Romance In The Dark In the dark, it's just you and I There's not a…
Something's Gotta Give When an irresistible force such as you Meets an old immovabl…
Take Your Shoes off Baby Let us fly away to the rock candy mountains Just you…
Where Are You *Brook* If you're gonna give me good kissin' like that Hone…
Why Was I Born? Spending these lonesome evenings With nothing to do But to…
You're A Sweetheart You're a sweetheart If there ever was one If there ever was…
You're Nobody 'til Somebody Loves You You're a nobody till somebody loves you You're nobody till s…
You've Been a Good Ole Wagon Well now let me tell you baby, Please get out of…