- Born
- Died
- Birth nameRuth Lee Jones
- Nickname
- Queen of the Blues
- Born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, the former Ruth Lee Jones moved with her family to Chicago as a young girl. She considered the Windy City her true home. And it was there in early 1940s that a local nightclub owner provided her first gig - and a new name that she would make famous. By 1959 she had earned a Grammy for her version of the song "What a Diff'rence a Day Makes." In his 2001 biography Q, music legend Quincy Jones vividly describes Washington's style, saying she "could take the melody in her hand, hold it like an egg, crack it open, fry it, let it sizzle, reconstruct it, put the egg back in the box and back in the refrigerator and you would've still understood every single syllable."
But the singer's musical gifts were offset by a wild and extravagant personal life. Married seven times, Washington battled weight problems and raced through her profits buying shoes, furs and cars in an effort to lift her spirits. Washington also tried numerous prescription medications, primarily for dieting and insomnia. A mix of the pills she was taking in 1963 caused her death, which was ruled an accident. Her gift lives on through her rich musical legacy.
- IMDb mini biography by: Anonymous
- SpousesRichard Lane(July 2, 1963 - December 14, 1963) (her death)Rafael Campos(January 6, 1961 - May 1962) (divorced)Edwin L Chamblee(February 21, 1957 - May 1959) (divorced)Walter Buchanan(October 13, 1950 - May 26, 1953) (divorced)Robert Grayson(August 15, 1947 - 1950) (divorced, 1 child)George Clarke Jenkins(June 11, 1946 - July 1947) (divorced, 1 child)John Young(July 1942 - 1943) (divorced)
- She chose and imposed Quincy Jones as her musical arranger, when he was not yet a name in the music industry.
- Inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame in 1987.
- Was godmother to singer Patti Austin.
- Married seven times.
- Her name was changed to Dinah Washington by Lionel Hampton.
- [during a performance in London, England] There is only one heaven, one earth and one queen--me. Queen Elizabeth is an impostor.
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