Queen
Subtitle: the life and music of Dinah Washington
By: Nadine Cohodas.
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: Pantheon Books
Published: 2004
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 559
Subjects: Washington, Dinah, -- 1924-1963; Singers -- United States -- Biography
Genres: Biography.
Other titles: Life and music of Dinah Washington
Description: "Queen is the biography of the brief, intensely lived life and soulful music of the great Dinah Washington." "A gospel star at fifteen, she was discovered by jazz great Lionel Hampton at eighteen, and for the rest of her life was on the road, playing clubs or singing in the studio - making music one way or another." "Dinah's tart and heartfelt voice quickly became her trademark; she was a distinctive stylist, crossing over from the "race" music category to the pop and the jazz charts. Known in her day as Queen of the Blues and Queen of the Juke Boxes, Dinah was regarded as that rare "first take" artist, her studio recordings reflecting the same passionate energy she brought to the stage. As Nadine Cohodas shows us, Dinah suffered her share of heartbreak in her personal life, but she thrived on the growing audience response that greeted her signature tunes: "What a Diff'rence a Day Makes," "Evil Gal Blues," and "Baby (You've Got What it Takes)," with Brook Benton. She made every song she sang her own." "Dinah lived large, with her seven marriages: her penchant for clothes, cars, furs, and diets: and her famously feisty personality - testy one moment and generous the next. This biography is the first to draw on extensive interviews with family members and newly discovered documents."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 525-529) and index.
Table of contents: title: Tuscaloosa, 1900-1928; title: Lift every voice, 1929-July 1942; title: Is there anyone finer?; title: August-December 1942; title: The "find" of the year, January-July 1943; title: I know how to do it, August 1943-November 1945; title: Stairway to a star, December 1945-December 1974; title: Queen of the juke boxes, 1948-1949; title: No time for tears, 1950-1951; title: Keter, Wynton, and Jimmy, 1952; title: Love for sale, 1953; title: Dinah Jams, 1954; title: Much more than a blues singer, 1955; title: "Hot, fresh and invigorating," 1956; title: "You've got to lay it on charisma," 1957; title: "Ah, I got you," 1958; title: What a diff'rence a day makes, 1959; title: Baby, you've got what it takes, 1960; title: September in the rain, 1961; title: Roulette wheel, 1962; title: For all we know, January-November 1963; title: "Move me a little higher," December 1963; title: Long live the queen.