"Dinah Washington was born Ruth Lee Jones in 1924, just before the Great Depression. Before she finished high school, Washington directed her church choir and became a member of the Sallie Martin Gospel Singers. She started her career in Chicago jazz clubs before winning the 1959 Grammy Award for R&B Performance with her interpretation of " What a Diff'rence a Day Makes.""
"Washington refused to abandon her dramatic gospel, jazz and blues roots, diversifying the sound of R&B with other hits such as " This Bitter Earth" and her rendition of " I Left My Heart in San Francisco." She died in 1963 at the age of 39 and left behind a legacy that influenced musical giants like Quincy Jones, Aretha Franklin, Amy Winehouse and Lady Gaga."
"It's easy to trace the vocal lineage from Washington to Ledisi through other generational voices like Sarah Vaughan, Nancy Wilson and Natalie Cole. Yet Ledisi brings a raw emotional understanding of Washington's catalogue that's all her own. "To not be accepted in an industry that you helped create ... that hurts my heart," Ledisi says of Washington's story. "I understand being ignored. I know what that feels like, having a big presence and still not getting the recognition.""
"Ledisi uses that level of empathy to elevate her storytelling, combining it with a Broadway veteran's polished theatricality and a historian's rigor. She combs through the biographies of those she pays tribute to - whether it's for a full-length project like her Grammy-nominated 2021 album, Ledisi Sings Nina, or one of her many career-defining homages to artists including Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle and Natalie Cole."
Dinah Washington, born Ruth Lee Jones in 1924, rose from church choir and gospel origins to prominence in Chicago jazz clubs and won the 1959 Grammy for R&B Performance with "What a Diff'rence a Day Makes." Washington preserved dramatic gospel, jazz, and blues roots across hits like "This Bitter Earth" and "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," and died in 1963 at 39, leaving a wide influence on later artists. Ledisi traces a vocal lineage through singers such as Sarah Vaughan and Natalie Cole, channels Washington's raw emotional depth, and pairs empathetic storytelling with theatrical polish and rigorous biographical research for tribute projects.
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