By royal command, I officially proclaim this Dinah Washington Week on Corey @ I'll Keep You Posted! It had to happen sooner or later and in this case, it's better late than never. A young friend of mine is just discovering Dinah and consequently he's going wild buying up all her music, asking questions and doing his own research. You see, Dinah Washington is my favorite singer of all time! Her voice is one of the first that I ever remember hearing on wax and she has made me feel some kind of way ever since. I have previously tried to turn my friend on to Dinah for the longest time but he just wasn't hearing me. He's finally got the message now and I feel like my work is done. What a difference a day makes, 24 little hours plus a few years on top of that!
Widely known as the Queen, Washington's career spanned almost three decades through the blues of the 40's, the rhythm, jump and jazz of the 50's, and her pop diva reign of the early 60's. Dinah Washington was the undisputed queen of the jukeboxes, the record charts and the funky bars. She cut so many records over these years that I'm not even sure anyone knows exactly how many there are. Most of them were hits on one level or another. Without Dinah's influence, Esther Phillips, Aretha Franklin, Nancy Wilson and Timi Yuro may have never stepped to the mike. She could sing anything - anything at all and she did so because she had one hell of a voice.
Speaking of hell, she sure was a hellion on this earth! She had many minions, and her closest friends only half jokingly referred to her as ONE EVIL BITCH! Mean and Evil Blues, Mellow Mama Blues, and Evil Gal Blues are just a few of the many true to life testimonies Washington waxed on record. Much like her idol, Billie Holiday, she put her heart and soul into every song but preferred not to sing anything she didn't feel. Yet, she was a loving mother, a good friend and supporter of young talent. Dinah was a mess and she was much loved by everyone from the common pimps and hos that gravitated to her shows all the way to the Hollywood elite - but some of them were pimps and hos, too! This week, I'll be talking about Dinah's voice, her many husbands, the gossip on which she thrived, her unexpected death and funeral in 1963, and posting Youtube clips.
Much like the divas who came after her, Washington had a huge gay following and the love affair was mutual. There are many photos out there of Dinah but only few survive like the one above taken in the late 50's. The party scene here is a birthday celebration for Ann Littles, one of Dinah's best girlfriends. Left to right we see jazz great Dizzy Gillespie (wearing glasses), Quincy Jones (holding glass), at his shoulder is Larue Manns (another great girl pal of Dinah's), there's the Queen herself looking very buxom in a low-cut white dress, way in the back by the wall lamp is her handsome then-boyfriend, musician Jimmy Cobb, Ann Littles is front and center cutting the cake, and I think that's Dinah's sister next to Ann. But then there's someone else peering into the camera. There's another queen! Heavily made up and in a suit this party reveler is unidentified.
Just a mere child, singer Patti Austin was Dinah's surrogate daughter and protege. "She would have an entourage for days. They usually included a lot of gay people. Because of Dinah, I had my first introduction to gay people, though I didn't understand what that meant at the time .... In retrospect, I knew that they were hairdressers and makeup people and dress designers and choreographers. They were working with her, but they hung out socially with her as well .... She was idolized by the gay community at that time, particularly the black gay community, and she worked 'em hard - they were gofers for her" Austin remembers.
Maybe that guy is Drake Tolbert!? Tolbert often worked as Dinah's valet, but after too many disagreements over money and other things, he went to the National Enquirer in 1962 and wrote a sensational tell-all article about working for the Queen. "She's a mixture of tyrant, angel, full-grown woman and little girl. She's mean, moody and magnificent" Tolbert told readers. There were a lot of people who knew she was all that and more!
I think we can narrow down the identity of this mysterious person if we find a photo of Dinah and Tolbert that appeared in the Enquirer. Notice I said WE! With a tiara on her head and a microphone in her hand, Tolbert is pictured on his knees changing the Queen's bejewled slippers. If it's the same guy, bingo! If not, we'll have to continue to wait for the other queen to step forward.
In the meantime, check this one out! This particular photo was taken in 1955 at the Moulin Rouge in Las Vegas. Of course, that's Dinah in the pearl necklace. That's Dinah's man, Jimmy Cobb kneeling between those two lovely ladies and that might be Ray Sneed looking all handsome standing by Dinah. I tell you the Queen has some serious competition here 'cuz those are some beautiful ladies in waiting!
Thanks, Corey. As usual your writing is as enjoyable as it is informative.
Like you, I discovered Queen Dinah at a very early age, and like most queens (a small case "q" for me)I got in the mirror and tried to sing along with her records (these were old 78s at my grandparents' house). My favorite Washington recording is her first version of "Trouble In Mind".
From what I've read (and you just verified it) there was no predicting her outbursts of temper. How much did alcohol play a part? Probably not much because she was mean when she was young-- before she started drinking heavy. I would have been scared to death to be around her. But now that you've pointed out she had many Gay folks in her entourage maybe she had a certain fondness for us. I wouldn't have stayed around long enough to find out.
Can you imagine what it was like when Queen Dinah visited Reverend CL Franklin's home for a Sunday dinner. Later singing church songs with young Aretha looking and listening with admiration for her idol. Then later here comes a mood swing and Queen Dinah would cuss everybody out.
Oh, no, I couldn't have served in the court of Queen Dinah. I'd rather have served in Lady Day's court...we'd just stay high all the time.
Posted by: Derrick from Philly | January 03, 2012 at 01:25 PM
Happy New Year, Derrick!
Thanks for your comment and as usual, they are off the chain!
Ahhhh...yes! Those old 78's. I'll be talking about those in the next installment.
Can I imagine? YES I CAN? LOL! Wow, the stories on Dinah are LEGION! Someone who "should know" told me something that either has to be true or is the product of a deranged mind. Something having to do with a piece of .........NEVER MIND! I've already been slightly accused of trying to defame her memory so let me shut up but I LOVE THIS WOMAN!
Stay tuned!
Posted by: Corey | January 03, 2012 at 03:53 PM
I'M SURE LEROY "BIG DADDY" LIONADES WILL NOT MIND THAT I MADE THE NECESSARY CORRECTION, BUT THE FOLLOWING COMMENT WAS ADDED TO THE PREVIOUS POST BUT WAS MEANT FOR THIS ONE:
Dear Blogger,
Since it would appear you are an expert on Ms. Washington and her music as well as her mystique, perhaps you could explain the impact her music has on my spouse. As soon as I hear the strains of of " Evil this Blues " or "Evil that Blues" I know I'm in for a rocky, unpredictable, volatile few hours. I often label her music "MUSIC TO GET/ACT EVIL" by. As soon as she hits the turntable my spouse gets as mean spirited and evil as the women she sings about. Fussy, Cantankerous, belligerent, cursing, screaming, criticizing, finding fault, complaining, arguing all while trying to supposedly " satisfy the soul" Why does her music seem to channel her spirit all up in my house? Maybe Dick "Night Train" Lane could deal with it but I can't. Please enlighten me Oh lover of all things DINAH.
Leroi "Big Daddy" Lionades
AND TO HIS COMMENT, I REPLY:
Hey Big Daddy, baby! Your words are certainly food for thought. How shall I enlighten you? I can think of a few ways. Since your ...umm ... spouse is such a 'lover of all things Dinah', I'm sure you've heard the Dinah jam "Big Long Slidin' Thing" playing around your house, no? It's a low-down tale of woe about Dinah waiting for her man to come home and the lay-back daddy treatment he's bound to get once she finds him. Yeah! Like I said, I can think of a few ways because channeling Dinah isn't always about being mean and evil.
SEE YOU WHEN YOU GET HOME!
Posted by: Corey | January 03, 2012 at 10:50 PM