Dinah Washington

Her outsize voice was easily matched by her ego. But Dinah Washington was one diva whose boasts could always be backed up – and were, every time she opened her mouth.

Washington had started in the church, and then picked up what other musical knowledge she needed in the Chicago ghettos. Then, in local nightclubs, she attacked every kind of song that was put in front of her. That versatility paid off and, once she started recording, she was always ready to go to the studio – whether to blast r&b or gospel, torch a pop ballad, or sing jazz. (She was one committed artist who repeatedly placed singles high on the r&b charts.) Whatever the context, her emphatic vocal ways christened her the Queen of the Blues. It was a title that no one ever took from her.