Was Dinah Washington a Blues singer or a Jazz singer. The answer I think is probably both.
Mrs CC is a bit of a fan and there are four Dinah CDs on the sheleves. I would describe two as Jazz and the other two as Blues. Obviously I've gone for one of the Blues compilations as Dinah makes her debut on these pages.
From 1997 on the Hallmark label Low Down Blues is a cheap and cheerful compilation with Ms Washington belting out some blues numbers accompanied by various Jazz orchestras.All the songs are from the mid 40s
She was pretty prolific with 45 R&B chart hits between 1948 and 1961 with 16 top 15 placements from 1948 -1950,She was obviously not on the Atlantic label given that she doesn't feature on Atlantic R&B Volume 1 1947-1952. Wiki confirms this by advising that she recorded for Keynote, Mercury, EmArcy and Roulette.
Born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in 1924 she was married six times (one less than Steve Earle!) before her death in Detroit in December 1963 aged just 39. The autopsy concluded that she died from a combination of prescription drugs (Secobarbital and Amobarbital) prescribed for her insomnia and diet
Dinah Washington - Mellow Mama Blues
3 great tracks there. What a voice. Married 6 times by the age of 39, I guess she was just unlucky.
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