• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Afrobella

Natural Hair, Beauty, Fashion and Makeup Blog

  • Hair
  • Beauty
    • Makeup
  • Reviews
  • Pop Culture
  • Style
  • About
    • Awards and Acclaim
    • FAQs
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy

Lost Ones — Dinah Washington

by afrobella

Whenever people think about all-time great jazz divas, the order typically goes: Billie, Ella, Sarah, Nina. Dinah Washington doesn’t necessarily get that first-name recognition, but she should. Because she was one bad bella.

Even if you’ve never heard of Dinah Washington, you might know one of her songs without realizing it– that Doubletree commercial that uses her song “Relax, Max” from her Swingin’ Miss D album is on the television all the time. Dinah Washington was among the sassiest of the great ladies of jazz. You can hear and see some of that spunky personality in this documentary clip, many of her best songs were as high spirited and tempestuous as she was off stage. Evil Gal Blues, Cold, Cold Heart, and It’s a Mean Old Man’s World, which was recorded just a year before her death, rank among her most feisty classics.

Her most famous song was probably What a Difference a Day Made (that’s an audio only version, enjoy).

She oozed sultry siren on Mad About The Boy, a song that reveals her complete range, from her crisp, clear, Eartha Kitt-esque diction to the kind of bold belting that inspired a young Aretha Franklin (and now Deborah Cox) to release a tribute album of Dinah Washington covers. Mad About the Boy is the kind of song on which careers are based. She makes you feel that song inside you when you hear it.

I love this live clip of her singing All of Me at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival. Man, that festival was one hot ticket back in the day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvRiiKOEAlw

Dinah’s in amazing voice, rockin’ awesome gold grape earrings, a short and sassy do (ala Sarah Vaughn), and wearing a dress that makes her look like a gift ready to be unwrapped. She looks happy in that clip, playing xylophone and singing. But although she smiled and sang so beautifully of true love, love and happiness continually eluded her.

She was married seven times and enjoyed a legion of lovers, including then-arranger (and then-hottie) Quincy Jones. In between marriages, Dinah filled her inner voids with extravagant purchases, buying cars and shoes and furs in the desperate pursuit of happiness.

The chronology of Dinah Washington’s life is reminiscent of Judy Garland’s, a grim and ceaseless downward spiral into the valley of the dolls. To keep up her performance schedule, she took pills. To keep her weight down, she took pills. To get to sleep at night, she took pills. Dinah Washington died of an accidental overdose in 1963. She was only 39 years old.

Her musical legacy lives on, and the city of Chicago has remembered her with the Dinah Washington Park.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Filed Under: Jams, Pop Culture

« Dear Mama
Who’s Sorry Now (and Why)? »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Daphne

    at

    wow this site is really wick’d. Keep up the superb work.

  2. Nichelle

    at

    Hey girl,

    Maybe it’s just a generational thing (or a New York thing) but I have to say, I have never heard anyone speak of the great jazz divas and leave Dinah Washington out. In fact, I happen to have a CD featuring the women that I typically hear being the standard bearers – Billie, Ella, (my fellow Newark, NJ born) Sarah and Dinah. Dinah Washington was also a huge influence on Nancy Wilson – listen to both and note how similar they sound. Nancy has said that she tailored herself after Dinah.

    Believe it or not, I happen to listen to Dinah everyday (yes, everyday!) I have a “Dinah” playlist on my iPod chile – I am not playing. 🙂 Ironically, “What a Difference a Day Makes” is my least favorite of her songs. I wasn’t surprised to find out that it was recorded with white audiences in mind. However, I will say one thing for Dinah – she would always say, “I’m a singer. I can sing anything.” In other words, she didn’t care about black or white in music. The fervor, passion, rage, vulnerability and sweetness in her voice is far more apparent to me in in the rest of her songs. I love her singing with Fats Waller (The Fats Waller Songbook) and songs like “I Want To Be Loved” (“I want to be loved, with inspiration! I want to be loved! Starting tonight, Instead of merely holding conversation, hold me tight…”) “Make Me A Present Out of You” (“What good is a gal with a million? What good if the world calls you queen? If you don’t have a man to love you, you really don’t have a doggone thing”) “Easy Living” (“Living for you, is Easy Living, it’s easy to live, when you’re in love, I’m happy to do, whatever I do for you.”)

    Maybe the young’uns don’t know who she is (okay – they definitely don’t, hahaha…) but people like me that are 35 and up absolutely know and love us some Miss Dinah. 🙂

  3. DaNeophyte

    at

    Afrobella this is why i love your site, i learn about so many forgotten bellas. Nichelle i never heard of Dinah Washington until now! I want to hear the songs you mentioned. Off to i tunes…

  4. Sue Le Vent

    at

    I love her voice. It has a girlish quality that is a pleasure to listen to 🙂

  5. BlackHoney

    at

    Hey Bella,
    You did it again. I absolutely love Dinah Washington.

    I’m telling you Bella, you have to write a book about all the little known Bellas. Young women whose reference point is Ciara and Beyonce really don’t how glamtastic we can be.

  6. berrybrowne

    at

    my grandfather is ms. washington’s number 1 fan. it is always great to read your articles and i am continually impressed at how you crank all of this stuff out and it’s not even your job. keep up the great work, bella.

  7. mxb

    at

    I want to live in the Newport Jazz Festival and play the vibes.
    A bit suggestive the way they zeroed in on her sparkling jewels, eh?
    Someone’s out on the stage with Dinah.
    Cheers

  8. LBellatrix

    at

    Jim Crow aside…can you imagine what it must have been like to come of age in the late 50s/early 60s? To this day my parents argue as to who introduced who to jazz. 🙂 Mom (the Northerner) swears she introduced Dad (the Southerner) to it and Dad swears that Mom would have never hit the jazz clubs if it weren’t for him.

    Thanks once again for a lovely and inspiring post!

  9. Dj

    at

    I’ve been a Dinah fan since childhood. I know all of her songs and could play Dinah Trivia all night long. This was a great post bella! Also when i think of great jazz singers the first to come to mind is Dinah. I’m surprised more people don’t know about her.

  10. Tysha

    at

    Thanks Bella for the Dinah W, write up.
    I was looking another AFro Diva to add to my tribute on http://www.myspace.com/1modestlady. Just little appreciation to the Afro Diva’s out there that use their voices as a gift to us.

  11. Dad

    at

    Dinah was a class act- one of the greats.For someone so young, it is really good to know that you appreciate good music, regardless of the era. I know that you also love the calypso classics, and reggae and …..
    You too are a class act. Take good care,
    DAD

  12. E-Fresh

    at

    I know she was White, but when you talk about the all-time great jazz divas, you gotta throw in Anita O’ Day on the list : )

  13. E-Fresh

    at

    I love your music posts.

  14. E-Fresh

    at

    One last comment, the crowds seem so much better back in the day. Everyone is thoroughly enjoying themselves, dancing and actively listening to the music, having a good time. It’s just not the same today.

  15. Tiffany

    at

    I always thought Dinah was held just as high as the others? That is too bad. I actually favor her over Billie? I will checkout the video when I get home.

    I love your site!

  16. black beauty

    at

    Thank you for this post. I once tried to read a biography about the life of Miss Washington but it was toooo dry. The author wrote more about music(notes etc.)than she did the life about Miss Washington.

  17. black beauty

    at

    By the way, am I the only one who is shocked to see how FINE Q. Jones was back in his day.

  18. Blisse

    at

    My parents were big Dinah Washington fans so I grew up listening to her and listening to the stories my mom would tell us about her. To say she was a colorful character is putting it mildly! I would love to find a book that accurately tells the story of her life. Thanks again for another fabulous “lost” Bella.

  19. thomas

    at

    Hi there, Germany here. Great Site this is, just posting only to inform you that we named our daughter Nina Simone and you mentioned her

Primary Sidebar


Visit Afrobella Store

Popular Posts

  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • May 2024
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • November 2022
  • September 2022
  • June 2022
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • September 2008
  • August 2008
  • July 2008
  • June 2008
  • May 2008
  • April 2008
  • March 2008
  • February 2008
  • January 2008
  • December 2007
  • November 2007
  • October 2007
  • September 2007
  • August 2007
  • July 2007
  • June 2007
  • May 2007
  • April 2007
  • March 2007
  • February 2007
  • January 2007
  • December 2006
  • November 2006
  • October 2006
  • September 2006
  • August 2006

Footer

  • Afrobella Radio
  • Ask Afrobella
  • Beauty
  • Body
  • Books
  • Events
  • Featured
  • Food
  • Hair
  • Health and Wellness
  • Issues
  • Jams
  • Life
  • Makeup
  • Monday Manicure
  • Pop Culture
  • Popular
  • Randomness
  • Reviews
  • Skin
  • Style
  • Travel

Copyright © 2025 · Foodie Pro & The Genesis Framework