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.
Evil Gal Blues
Dinah Washington Lyrics
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Yes, I'm an evil gal, don't you bother with me
I'll empty your pockets and fill you with misery
I've got men to the left, men to the right
Men every day and men every night
I've got so many men, mmm, I don't know what to do
So I'm tellin' you, daddy, I ain't no good to you
I've got men in the east, men in the west
But my man here in Harlem always loves me the best
I'm an evil gal and I need an evil man
But I'm down in the dumps since I've lost him to Uncle Sam
If you want to be happy, don't hang around with me
Mmm, I said if you wanna be happy, don't hang around with me
'Cause I'm an evil gal and I want to set you free
The song Evil Gal Blues by Dinah Washington follows the story of a woman who proclaims herself to be evil and warns men to stay away from her. She boasts about her affairs with different men, stating that she has men on every side, and she doesn't know what to do with them. However, her man back in Harlem is the one she loves the most. But, due to Uncle Sam – referring to the United States Army – she lost him, and now she's feeling down in the dumps. She finally warns men that if they want to be happy, they should stay away from her.
The lyrics of this song portray a stereotype of a black woman as an immoral and seductive person who attracts multiple men without any intentions of loving them. Dinah Washington brilliantly depicts this stereotype and uses a powerful voice to present an image of a woman who is comfortable in her skin, despite societal stigmas.
Interestingly, Evil Gal Blues is one of Dinah Washington's most famous songs and has been covered by several other artists over the years, including Bette Midler, Koko Taylor, and Aretha Franklin. The song was written by recording industry pioneer Leonard Chess, who founded Chess Records alongside his brother Phil. The song was recorded in 1944 and released the following year by Dinah Washington, making her a star. In 2003, the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress added the song to its archives.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm an evil gal, don't you bother with me
I'm a woman who's trouble, so stay away from me.
Yes, I'm an evil gal, don't you bother with me
Yes, I'm a woman who's trouble, so stay away from me.
I'll empty your pockets and fill you with misery
I'll take all your money and make your life miserable.
I've got men to the left, men to the right
I've got men all around me, all the time.
Men every day and men every night
I have men pursuing me constantly.
I've got so many men, mmm, I don't know what to do
There are so many men interested in me that I can't keep track of them all.
So I'm tellin' you, daddy, I ain't no good to you
I'm warning you, I'm not a good choice for a partner.
I've got men in the east, men in the west
I have men interested in me from all over the place.
But my man here in Harlem always loves me the best
But my man that lives in Harlem loves me more than anyone else.
I'm an evil gal and I need an evil man
I'm a troublemaker and I need a partner who is also troublesome.
But I'm down in the dumps since I've lost him to Uncle Sam
But I'm sad because my lover has been drafted into the military.
If you want to be happy, don't hang around with me
If you want to feel good and avoid trouble, don't spend time with me.
Mmm, I said if you wanna be happy, don't hang around with me
I'm telling you again, if you want to be happy, avoid me.
'Cause I'm an evil gal and I want to set you free
Because I'm a troublemaker who wants to push you away and set you free from any influence I may have over you.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: LEONARD FEATHER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind