Dinah Washington
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. Read Full BioRuth 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.
More Genres
No Artists Found
More Artists
Load All
No Albums Found
More Albums
Load All
No Tracks Found
Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Search results not found
Song not found
Mad About the Boy
Dinah Washington Lyrics
Mad about the boy
I know it's stupid to be mad about the boy
I'm so ashamed of it but must admit the sleepless nights I've had
About the boy
On the silverscreen
He melts my foolish heart in every single scene
Although I'm quite aware that here and there are traces of the cad
About the boy
Lord knows I'm not a fool girl
I really shouldn't care
Lord knows I'm not a school girl
In the flurry of her first affair
Will it ever cloy
This odd diversity of misery and joy
I'm feeling quite insane and young again
And all because I'm mad about the boy
So if I could employ
A little magic that will finally destroy
This dream that pains me and enchains me
But I can't because I'm mad
I'm mad about the boy
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Noel Coward
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on specific lyrics, highlight them
Yevheniia Melnykova
I'm mad about the boy
I know it's stupid to be mad about the boy
I'm so ashamed of it but must admit the sleepless nights I've had
About the boy
On the silverscreen
He melts my foolish heart in every single scene
Although I'm quite aware that here and there are traces of the cad
About the boy
Lord knows I'm not a fool girl
I really shouldn't care
Lord knows I'm not a school girl
Whose in the flurry of her first affair
Will it ever cloy
This odd diversity of misery and joy
I'm feeling quite insane and young again
And all because I'm mad about the boy
So if I could employ
A little magic that will finally destroy
This dream that pains me and enchains me
But I can't because I'm mad
I'm mad about the boy
berry nutter
The song expresses the adulation of a matinee idol by a number of women as they queue outside a cinema and is sung by several female characters in turn.[1] The adoring fans sing of their love for their hero:
On the silver screen
He melts my foolish heart in every single scene (original version)
Coward later wrote additional verses for the New York production, to be sung by a male character. The lyrics make explicit reference to homosexual feelings with lines such as:
When I told my wife
She said "I've never heard such nonsense in my life!" (Broadway version)
The lyrics also make camp humorous reference to the supposed effeminacy of the character, who is likened to the contemporary film actress Myrna Loy, and to his repeated unsuccessful attempts at conversion therapy with his psychiatrist. The verses were never performed, as the management thought them too risqué.[1]
"The boy" was rumoured to be Douglas Fairbanks Jr, who, according to an American newspaper years later, "Noel loved...[but] Doug definitely didn't love him back, although the two men became good friends."[2] Actor Tyrone Power has also been the rumored subject of the song.
GordanGeeko
Every beautiful word sung from the soul. One of the best lyrics = "This odd diversity of misery and joy." Sums up what life is.
No Middle Name NMN
@scabbycat cat I agree. You take that bait and you’re lured in. You feel completely alive.
Joanne Nugent
@scabbycat cat I kno.Her voice is just magic.
You know people go on about singers like Adele.Ha,I am sorry,but most modern singers today aren't anywhere in the same league.
scabbycat cat
@Joanne Nugent How many people have been in love and listened to this song and the lyrics " something of the cad about the boy"- know exactly what she is talking about.
Joanne Nugent
So true.Gordan. I absolutely love this song.
vausemike
So effortless. So immaculate. Perfection. One of the songs that no one should ever attempt to cover.
Marianne Cornett
Fantastic voice - stunning performance ❤️❤️❤️
Mark Lord
I think years ago.........Levi used this in an ad
She is the female version of Nat King Cole
Perfect
Shanna Banana
This cover is okay, I like the Phylis Robins version better. Opinions, Opinions.
Fernando DC
@Henry-Bart Yes, this was a cover, but now is the golden standard !