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.
Honky Tonk
Dinah Washington Lyrics
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Been in every honky-tonk,
Been tryin' to find my daddy
With that broke down piece o′ junk!
Ask everyone to help me,
Cried, "Help me if you can;
You'll lnow my daddy,
He's that trombone playin′ man!
Tell me where is my daddy
With that big long slidin′ thing?".
I even ask a man
That played a steel guitar;
He said that you don't need him
To be moved eight to the bar!
He brought his amplifier
And he hitched it in my plug;
He planked it, and he plunked it,
But it just wasn′t good enough,
'Cause I need my daddy,
Need my daddy with that big long slidin′ thing!
Well, then a knock came at my door,
I said, "Mmm, my daddy's back!".
I opened up the door
And there stood Piano Jack!
He said, "I came to do some tinklin′
On your piano keys!".
I said, "Don't make me nervous,
This ain't no time to tease!
Just send me my daddy,
Send me my daddy with that big long slidin′ thing!".
Well, the first time he played,
I ask him how it was done.
He said, "I blow through here,
Then I work my fingers and my thumb!
I slide it right up,
Then I slide it back again
And I gdet a lot o′ wind,
And then I slide it back again!".
That is my daddy
With that big long sliding thing, oh yeah!
In Dinah Washington's song Honky Tonk, the singer is searching for her father, a trombone player, in every bar and honky-tonk but to no avail. She enlists the help of everyone she meets, including a man who plays a steel guitar, but none of them are able to satisfy her need for her father's music. Finally, Piano Jack arrives at her door and offers to play for her, claiming to have a technique involving blowing through the instrument and using his fingers and thumb to slide and manipulate it. When he finally plays, she realizes that it is her father with the "big long sliding thing" she's been searching for.
The lyrics of this song are powerful in their depiction of the singer's yearning for her father's music and the way it moves her. They also paint a vivid picture of the honky-tonk scene and the various musicians she encounters in her search. The lyrics evoke a sense of loneliness and desperation but end on a note of triumph when she finally reunites with her father through his music.
Line by Line Meaning
I’ve been in every bar,
I have visited all the bars in town.
Been in every honky-tonk,
I have been to every establishment featuring country music acts and dancing.
Been tryin' to find my daddy With that broke down piece o′ junk!
I am trying to find my father, who plays trombone, along with his old, beat up instrument.
Ask everyone to help me,
I have asked everyone I've come across for assistance.
Cried, "Help me if you can;
I have begged anybody who would listen to lend a hand.
You'll know my daddy, He's that trombone playin′ man!
If you hear a trombone playing, then that's my dad!
Where is my daddy?
Where could my father be?
Tell me where is my daddy With that big long slidin′ thing?.
Where can I find my father with his signature long slide trombone?
I even ask a man That played a steel guitar;
I have even sought help from a musician playing the steel guitar.
He said that you don't need him To be moved eight to the bar!
He suggested that I didn't need my father's trombone to enjoy lively dance music.
He brought his amplifier And he hitched it in my plug;
He carried his amplifier and connected it to my outlet.
He planked it, and he plunked it, But it just wasn′t good enough,
He tried his best to entertain me, but it didn't have the same impact as a trombone.
'Cause I need my daddy, Need my daddy with that big long slidin′ thing!
I need my father, and his trombone is what makes him unique.
Well, then a knock came at my door,
Suddenly, I heard someone knocking at my door.
I said, "Mmm, my daddy's back!".
I thought that it might be my father returning.
I opened up the door And there stood Piano Jack!
When I opened the door, I was surprised to see Piano Jack standing there.
He said, "I came to do some tinklin′ On your piano keys!".
He said that he was at my house to play some music on my piano.
I said, "Don't make me nervous, This ain't no time to tease!
I told him not to toy with my emotions in this serious situation.
Just send me my daddy, Send me my daddy with that big long slidin′ thing!".
I asked him to help me find my father instead of wasting time on the piano.
Well, the first time he played,
When he started playing the instrument,
I ask him how it was done.
I asked him how to play the trombone.
He said, "I blow through here, Then I work my fingers and my thumb!
He told me that he blows air into the mouthpiece before using his fingers and thumb to play.
I slide it right up, Then I slide it back again And I get a lot o′ wind, And then I slide it back again!".
He described how to play by sliding the trombone, pulling a lot of air into it, and then repeating many times.
That is my daddy With that big long sliding thing, oh yeah!.
What he described is how my father plays his signature instrument, the big long slide trombone!
Writer(s): Clifford Scott, Bill Doggett, Billy Butler, Berisford (shep) Shepherd
Contributed by Ava V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.