Dinah Washington (Born Ruth Jones)
August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963
Dinah Washington was one of popular music’s most influential R&B, jazz and blues singers. Over a career that spanned just 20 years, she charted over 30 records in the U.S. and U.K. Washington learned to play the piano as a child, and by her teens, she was singing in local gospel groups. By eighteen, she was singing with Lionel Hampton’s band, and within a year, she was making her own recordings. Over the course of her career she charted with such songs as “Baby (You’ve Got What It Takes),” (with Brook Benton), “Unforgettable,” and “What a Difference a Day Makes,” which won her a Grammy in 1959. Dinah Washington reportedly struggled with weight issues and was taking diet pills when, on December 14, 1963, she died of an accidental overdose when she mixed them with alcohol. She was just 39 when she died.
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