All Hail the Queen! University Libraries Celebrate the Life and Music of Tuscaloosa Native, Music Legend Dinah Washington

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University Libraries will sponsor an event honoring the life and legacy of Dinah Washington, blues legend and Tuscaloosa native, on Wednesday, March 2, from 4:30-7 p.m. on the 2nd floor of the Gorgas Library at The University of Alabama.

The event is free and open to the public. The schedule for the event is as follows:

• 4:30-5:30 p.m., Open house/reception/signing
• 5:30-6 p.m., Lecture by author Nadine Cohodas
• 6-6:45 p.m., Concert by Elnora Spencer
• 6:45-7 p.m., Additional book signing opportunity

Copies of “Queen: The Life and Music of Dinah Washington” (Pantheon, 2004) by Nadine Cohodas will be on sale at the event, along with copies of the accompanying CD, Queen: The Music of Dinah Washington (Verve, 2004).

Dinah Washington was born Ruth Lee Jones in 1924 in Tuscaloosa. Moving with her family at a young age to Chicago, she went on to become one of the most distinctive singers of her time. Her biggest triumph came with the 1959 Grammy-winning “What a Diff’rence a Day Makes” and she topped the charts again with “Baby, You’ve Got What it takes” a sizzling duet with Brook Benton.

A gospel star at age 15, she was discovered by the legendary Lionel Hampton at 18. The rest of her short life was spent touring in clubs and theaters and in the studio — making music.

Washington’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 jazz charts. Known in her day as Queen of the Blues and Queen of the Juke Boxes, Washington was regarded as that rare “first take” artist, her studio recordings reflecting the same passion and energy she brought to every live performance. She was known to make every song her own, having once said, “George Gershwin wouldn’t know his own song when I’m through with it. I can’t stay hidebound to any melody.”

Cohodas meticulously researched Washington’s life and music for her book, drawing on extensive interviews with family members and close friends and newly discovered documents. Much of the research on Washington’s early life and family was done at UA’s W.S. Hoole Special Collections Library and in Tuscaloosa.

Cohodas has also written “Spinning Blues to Gold: The Chess Brothers and the Legendary Chess Records,” which was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2002 as a classic of Blues literature. She has appeared on NPR’s Tavis Smiley show and Weekend Edition. She lives in Washington, D.C.

Cohodas’s “Queen: The Life and Music of Dinah Washington” is the landmark biography of the brief, intensely lived life and soulful music of the great Washington. Following Cohodas’ talk, Alabama blues singer Elnora Spencer will perform a set of blues numbers, including some of the tunes that made Washington famous.

Spencer is an award-winning Birmingham based jazz and blues singer. A native of Adamsville, her earliest influence was her mother who sang gospel songs. Her performing career began at age 7 and by age 12 she was already on the road with a gospel group “the Eight Magestics.” Spencer sites a wide range of inspirational influences from Mahalia Jackson, Gladys Knight, B.B. King to Dinah Washington. A regular on the club and festival circuits she has shared the stage with B. B. King, Little Milton, Millie Jackson, The Drifters, Bobby Womack, Benny Latimore, Bobby Rush, and more. Her three CD releases have received critical acclaim.

An exhibit, “Blues at Hoole,” will feature materials from the Hoole Library that reflect the library’s holdings and Alabama’s rich blues history. Included in the exhibit are materials from the U.S. Post Office in Tuscaloosa where the first issue of the Dinah Washington postage stamp was released in 1993. Rare photographs of Washington on loan from Cohodas will also be featured. A small exhibit will accompany the event in the Gorgas Library. The University Libraries 2004-2005 Lecture Series is sponsored by Dr. and Mrs. Lakey Tolbert.

In conjunction with this event, several other events are being held in Tuscaloosa, including the exhibit, “Red Hot and Blue: Spotlight on Five Alabama Blues Women” at the Tuscaloosa Public Library, from Feb. 22 – March 31. The exhibit will open with a performance and presentation, “Beltin’, Boppin’ and Blue – Women and the Blues,” by award-winning writer and blues singer Lea Gilmore.

Also of note, renowned Blues singer and Alabama native Vera Ward Hall will be inducted in the Alabama Women’s Hall of Fame at Judson College on March 3.

For more information about the UA event, contact Jessica Lacher-Feldman at jlfeldma@bama.ua.edu or 205/348-0500.