This Day in History: 1963-12-14

Dinah Washington
Aug. 29, 1924 – Dec. 14, 1963 (age 39)

Born Ruth Lee Jones,  in Tuscaloosa Alabama but moved to Chicago as a child. She made her recording debut for the Keynote label  with “Evil Gal Blues”, In 1959, she had her first top ten pop hit, with “What a Diff’rence a Day Made”, which made Number 4 on the US pop chart. Dinah died of an overdose of a combination of secobarbital and amobarbital, both prescriptions used for her insomnia and diet. She was only 39 years old.