Description

Dinah Washington was just nineteen when she joined Lionel Hampton’s big band as a vocalist in 1943. After hearing her perform at New York City’s Apollo Theater, jazz critic Leonard Feather arranged a recording session that yielded Washington’s first rhythm and blues hits, “Salty Papa Blues” and “Evil Gal Blues.” Leaving Hampton’s band in 1946 to pursue a solo career, Washington quickly emerged as one of R&B’s most popular artists. She also retained a loyal following among jazz enthusiasts, who cheered her appearances at the Newport Jazz Festival and welcomed albums such as Dinah Jams (1954), on which she was backed by an ensemble featuring jazz greats Clifford Brown and Max Roach. Long a fixture on the R&B charts, Washington scored a crossover pop hit in 1959 with her Grammy-winning single, “What a Difference a Day Makes.” Tragically, an accidental prescription drug overdose claimed her life four years later.Dinah Washington tenía solo diecinueve años cuando se unió a la orquesta de Lionel Hampton como vocalista en 1943. Al escucharla en el Teatro Apollo de New York, el crítico Leonard Feather le coordinó una sesión de grabación que produjo sus primeros éxitos de rhythm and blues: “Salty Papa Blues” y “Evil Gal Blues”. En 1946 se separó de la orquesta de Hampton para proseguir como solista, destacándose pronto como una de las intérpretes más populares de R&B. También conservó fieles admiradores entre los entusiastas del jazz, quienes aplaudían sus presentaciones en el Newport Jazz Festival y sus discos como Dinah Jams...

Record Contributed By

National Portrait Gallery

Record Harvested From

Smithsonian Institution