Music
Dinah Washington
1924–1963 · singer, pianist
The “Queen of the Blues,” one of the top-selling Black singers of the 1950s, who married Detroit Lions star Dick “Night Train” Lane and died at their Detroit home in 1963.
- Born
Tuscaloosa, Alabama- Died
Detroit, Michigan
aged 39- Birth name
- Ruth Lee Jones
- Also known as
- Queen of the Blues · Queen of the Jukeboxes
- Detroit years
- 1963
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Dinah Washington grew up in Chicago, sang gospel in church, and became one of the most popular Black recording artists of the 1950s, moving freely between jazz, blues, R&B and pop. Her 1959 hit “What a Diff'rence a Day Makes” won a Grammy and crossed over to white audiences. Her Detroit chapter was brief and ended tragically. In 1963 she married Dick “Night Train” Lane, the Detroit Lions' Hall of Fame cornerback, and settled with him in Detroit. On December 14, 1963, Lane found her unconscious at their home; she had died at 39 from an accidental combination of prescription sedatives. She was buried at Burr Oak Cemetery near Chicago. Her voice left a strong mark on Detroit singers: in 1964 Aretha Franklin recorded a full tribute album to her, Unforgettable.
Highlights
- Grammy for “What a Diff'rence a Day Makes” (1959)
- Married Detroit Lions cornerback Dick “Night Train” Lane in 1963
- Died at her Detroit home on December 14, 1963, aged 39
- Aretha Franklin's 1964 album Unforgettable was a tribute to her
- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 1993