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.

Take Your Shoes Off
Dinah Washington Lyrics

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Let us fly away to the rock candy mountains
Just you and I
Where the bluebird sings by the champagne springs
We'll kiss the blues goodbye
Let us wander down to a rose petal pathway
And if you're feelin' fine
Take your shoes off, baby
And quit runnin' through my mind

After we've reached the end of the world
We'll stand at the edge of time
We'll quickly sail away on an ocean of love
Of the rippling thrills of that rhyme
Let me guide my love through the strangest places
Where love is blind

Take your shoes off, baby
And stop runnin' through my mind

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Dinah Washington's song "Take Your Shoes off Baby" refer to the power of love to transport people away from their problems and worries. The singer is calling for a departure from reality to retreat to a place of pure beauty and pleasure represented by the "rock candy mountains" and "champagne springs." The singer invites the beloved to let go of their inhibitions, relax, and simply enjoy each other's company. Together, they will explore the mysteries of love, journeying to the end of the world and beyond. The phrase "take your shoes off" is a metaphor for releasing oneself from the weight and stress of daily life, particularly these days when we are stuck at home and constantly worried about the state of the world.

The song suggests that the singer is in love with someone who is hesitant to let go and enjoy the moment - hence the repeated appeals for the beloved to stop running through the singer's mind. It is a song about two people who want to escape reality but are also held back by their hesitance to fully embrace each other. The lyrics are romantic, highlighting that the journey to the end of the world is made all the more exciting by the presence of a loved one by one's side.

Overall, "Take Your Shoes off Baby" is a love song that encourages couples to take a break from reality and enjoy each other's company more fully. Whether through escaping to a beautiful paradise or simply slipping into a moment of pure love, the song suggests that there is joy to be found in letting go and indulging in our desires.

Take Your Shoes OffDinah Washington Lyrics

Take Your Shoes Off
Dinah Washington Lyrics