Dinah Washington

"The Queen of the Blues" redirects here. For the Chicago Blues singer, see Koko Taylor. For Taylor's album, see Queen of the Blues.
Dinah Washington
Washington in 1962
Washington in 1962
Background information
Birth nameRuth Lee Jones
Born(1924-08-29)August 29, 1924
Tuscaloosa, Alabama, U.S.
OriginChicago, Illinois, U.S.
DiedDecember 14, 1963(1963-12-14) (aged 39)
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • musician
Instruments
Years active1941–1963
Labels

Dinah Washington (/ˈdaɪnə/; born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, one of the most popular black female recording artists of the 1950s.[1] Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performed and recorded in a wide variety of styles including blues, R&B, and traditional pop music,[1] and gave herself the title of "Queen of the Blues".[2] She was also known as "Queen of the Jukeboxes".[3] She was a 1986 inductee of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.

  1. ^ a b "Dinah Washington". AllMusic. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
  2. ^ Carney Smith, Jessie (1992). Notable Black American Women. VNR AG. ISBN 9780810391772. Retrieved June 27, 2014 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference NPR was invoked but never defined (see the help page).