The Queen's Men: The Many Husbands of DINAH WASHINGTON

I've got men to the left, men to the right,
Men every day and men every night!
I've got so many men, I don't know what to do  - Evil Gal Blues (original version) as sung by Dinah Washington

Dinah Washington had so many men that she didn't know what to do.  Lucky woman!  In addition to seven legal husbands there were so many pretend and 'rent-a-husbands' that very few people could keep up.  One of Dinah's employee's actually kept a card file as a tracking system. 

Ms. Washington was never the housewife type, but the trappings of a traditional marriage still meant very much to her.  The ceremony and appearance of domesticity suggested something of a more normal life for a female singer accustomed to traveling the road from city to city.  Unfortunately, that would never be the case for Washington, and the fact that she was the breadwinner certainly did not help matters.  On top of that, Washington chose the same man over again which basically amounted to one handsome brotha after another looking for a free ride for as long as it lasted.

John Young was Husband no. 1, and roughly six years older than Dinah when they met.  She said he wanted to help her realize her dreams and put her in show business.  Barely eighteen, she believed him and they were married in July, 1942.  Depending on who's telling the story he supported her ambitions or wanted a stay at home wife.  Either way, three months after the wedding, they were filing for divorce in the fall of '42.  Already hard to handle, Dinah struck a defiant 'round the way girl pose on her first wedding day.

Dinah met George Jenkins, Husband no. 2 in 1944.  He was a newcomer to the Lionel Hampton Orchestra in which she was already the star vocalist.  By 1945,  she was pregnant with their son, George Jenkins, Jr.  They were married in June, 1946, right in time for the baby's delivery but were already divorced by the end of that same year.

Husband no. 3, Robert Grayson had a little history with Dinah.  Some say he was a childhood sweetheart, while others say she was more interested in his brother. Grayson's father was the minister who officiated her first marriage to John Young. This union also produced a son, Bobby Jr.  Dinah and Robert were married in August, 1947, and stayed together almost two and a half years.

Walter Buchanan was from a very well-established professional family.  He was a sometimes bass player and nine years older than Dinah, but that didn't stop him from wanting to live off of his wife's earnings.  Their marriage was marked by ferocious fights and alcohol abuse, and only lasted for three months.  During that time, Buchanan did not mind being Husband no. 4.

Before, sometimes during and certainly after Dinah's marriages, there were other men like band leader Teddy Stewart, Jackie Hayes of the "model good looks" and Rev. Russell Roberts, the playboy preacher. Dinah met the mild-mannered Rusty Maillard working as a cab driver, and musician Larry Wrice is immortalized in the classic, My Man's An Undertaker.  Both men have said they were married to Dinah but they were not her legal husbands.  Jimmy Cobb was also another musician, a noted drummer in his own right. That particular affair was basically a good one for them both but was supposedly marred only by Washington's unpredictable temperament.

In 1957, Dinah met Eddie Chamblee, a sax player of some note & reputation whom she also knew in high school.  Washington said she expected this marriage to be THE ONE but alas, it was nothing but the same ol' story, song and dance.  Wed on the stage of a nightclub, they started out with a bang.  Slappy White (far right) was the Best Man and little Patti Austin acted as the ring bearer.  That night after the wedding, they performed the late show at the club. 

The marriage to Eddie Chamblee also ended with an onstage bang when Dinah cursed him out and smashed his saxophone against the wall as the audience cheered.  They were only together for a year.

Raphael Campos was a wraith-like but handsome Hollywood B-movie actor of some notoriety for having played the role of a juvenile delinquent in the movie Blackboard Jungle.  The Hispanic actor was also 25 years old compared to Dinah's 36 years.  They met in December of 1960, and by January of 1961 they were married.  There was always some speculation to the nature of their marriage when friends considered the fact that he had never seen her naked.  When she kicked him out, it was rumored that one of her male band members left with him.  Nobody batted an eye when Husband no. 6 bit the dust.

Dinah Washington met her match in Dick "Night Train" Lane!  He almost threw her out of a window BEFORE they even started dating so what does that tell us? 

He cheated and she probably did too, but by all accounts they loved each other and nobody has ever judged their relationship.  After a few years of flirting, they got married in July, 1963.  Lane, a defensive back for the Detroit Lions, entered the relationship with his own identity intact and she ended up following him instead of the other way around.

Instead of divorce this time, Dinah made her final exit through death.  She died of an accidental overdose of prescription pills on December 14, 1963.

In her songs, Dinah often said all she wanted to do was satisfy her soul.  Apparently she wanted a harem, too! 

In an article entitled Me and My Six Husbands (Sepia magazine, 1962) Dinah told her readers "I have been hurt, humiliated, kicked around, robbed, maligned by lies. Name it, it has happened to me, but I refuse to give up .... I'll go on giving, loving and searching for the happiness I want.  And if everything else fails, as that famous song said, 'I'll give my heart to the junkman.' "

Comments

[Michael Henry Adams]

several informants, now all dead, have said that Ms. Washinton's penchant was for 'turning out' 'faggots', These guys were very accurate so when I read your headline it was'alright!'
are you going to do a post on the late, newly dearly departed gay black writer Henry Van Dyke? His service is on the 15th, I hope to do something, but I have 0 following...he deservs better..

[Corey]

Thank you for your comment, Mr. Adams.
I am always honored to have you drop by.

At the risk of having my member card revoked, I will admit that this is the first that I've ever heard anyone mention Mr. Van Dyke. So far, I've only found ONE photo of him online and NO BIO at all. So, I think YOU might be more well-suited to do that tributary post. If you do the post, IT WILL BE SEEN when folks go searching; forget the following DO THE POST! I know I'm waiting for it, but I know you won't do it until you get back from the funeral.

[Derrick from Philly]

I guess you could say that Queen Dinah out did Catherine The Great in the "getting men" department. And all of her men looked so good!

Who would be suitable to play Queen Dinah in a movie? The only person I can think of is Jennifer Hudson...but then, I don't know many actresses under the age of sixty.

Thanks, as usual, Corey.