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Dinah Washington music biography continued...

1924, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Washington moved to Chicago at age three and was raised in a world of gospel, playing the piano and directing her church choir. At 15, after winning an amateur contest at the Regal Theatre, she began performing in nightclubs as a pianist and singer, opening at the Garrick Bar in 1942. Talent manager Joe Glaser heard her there and recommended her to Lionel Hampton, who asked her to join his band and take the stage name Dinah Washington. In 1943, she began recording for Keynote Records and released the 12-bar blues "Evil Gal Blues", her first hit. She then switched to Chicago-based Mercury Records and from 1948 to 1955, she had numerous hits on the R&B charts, including "Am I Asking Too Much", "Baby, Get Lost," "Trouble in Mind", " and "Teach Me Tonight." Her style was hard to classify as she sang blues, standards, novelties, pop covers, and even country, recording Hank Williams' "Cold, Cold Heart," making her one of the most well-rounded stars of her day.



With "What a Diff'rence a Day Makes" in 1959, Washington won a Grammy Award for Best Rhythm and Blues Performance. The song was her first top ten hit in the Pop charts, reaching #8 on the Billboard Hot 100. The commercially driven album of the same name, with its heavy reliance on strings and wordless choruses, was slammed by jazz and blues critics for being too commercial and for straying from Washington's blues roots. Despite this, it was a huge success and from that point, Washington continued to favor more commercial, pop-oriented songs rather than traditional blues and jazz songs. In 1960, she recorded a string of R&B hits, including "Baby (You've Got What It Takes)," "A Rockin' Good Way (To Mess Around and Fall In Love)" and "The Bitter Earth," but gradually the hits became more sparse. Washington, who had fought a weight problem her whole life, died on December 14, 1963 at age 39 from a lethal combination of alcohol and diet pills. The music industry and fans the world over mourned her loss.