Dinah Washington - Original Queen Of Soul (2014)

Dinah Washington was arguably the first Queen of Soul, having gained herself the soubriquet ‘The Queen’ in music circles of the early 1950s through the volume of hit records and performance notices achieved in the first decade of her career. She rose from the clubs and bars of Southside Chicago in the mid-1940s to enjoy a wealth of hit singles - some 40 reaching the Billboard R&B charts through the 1950s as Mercury Records reaped the value of her talent with almost as many albums. It wasn’t until 1959 that Dinah scored her first major Hot 100 hit, with ‘What A Diff’rence A Day Makes’, a turning point which also brought about hit duets with label-mate Brook Benton. With the new decade came a move to Roulette Records, where producer Henry Glover, as well as recording her on classy ballads and standards, invigorated her sound, turning back to the blues, whilst remaining at the forefront of the emergent soul market. Just as her career was about to reach new heights, galvanised by a new and diverse style, on the evening of December 14, 1963, Dinah took several sleeping pills after a heavy drinking session and didn’t make it to the next morning. Soul music writer and broadcaster Clive Richardson presents Original Queen of Soul, an overview of the recording career of Dinah Washington, which also serves to commemorate the 50th anniversary of her death. The 80 tracks include hard-to-find club-blues recordings from the 1940s, album tracks and singles in a range of styles and moods from the 1950s, and a selection of her later work under the guidance of Henry Glover from the early 1960s.

Tracklist:

CD 1
1. Evil Gal Blues (2:53)
2. No Love, No Nothin' (2:50)
3. Shoo Shoo Baby (2:36)
4. Million Dollar Smile (2:43)
5. And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine (2:00)
6. All or Nothing (2:51)
7. Blues For a Day (2:52)
8. Chewin' Woman Blues [Aka Chewin' Mama Blues] (2:54)
9. Mellow Mama Blues (3:08)
10. Salty Papa Blues (3:02)
11. Wise Woman Blues (2:49)
12. When a Woman Loves a Man (2:55)
13. I Want To Cry (3:12)
14. I'll Wait (3:06)
15. It's Too Soon To Know (2:43)
16. Mean and Evil Blues (2:51)
17. Record Ban Blues (3:17)
18. Resolution Blues (3:17)
19. Walkin' and Talkin' (and Crying My Blues Away) (2:35)
20. West Side Baby (3:00)
21. You Satisfy (2:51)
22. Am I Really Sorry (2:58)
23. Baby Get Lost (2:52)
24. Good Daddy Blues (2:26)
25. I Only Know (2:28)
26. It Isn't Fair (3:03)
27. Big Deal (2:46)
28. I'll Never Be Free (2:44)

CD 2
1. Cold, Cold Heart (3:23)
2. If You Don't Believe I'm Leaving (Count the Days I'm Gone) (2:44)
3. Trouble In Mind (2:54)
4. Double Dealing Daddy (2:50)
5. Half As Much (2:35)
6. I Cried For You (2:31)
7. Mad About the Boy (3:02)
8. My Song (2:59)
9. New Blowtop Blues (2:39)
10. Pillow Blues (2:59)
11. Feel Like I Wanna Cry (3:24)
12. (No, No, No) You Can't Love Two (3:02)
13. Big Long Slidin' Thing (3:01)
14. Dream (2:44)
15. Goodbye (3:24)
16. I Could Have Told You (3:17)
17. More Than You Know (3:56)
18. You Don't Know What Love is (4:04)
19. I'll Close My Eyes (4:01)
20. My Ideal (2:23)
21. Tears To Burn (2:50)
22. They Didn't Believe Me (2:49)
23. You Let My Love Get Cold (2:30)
24. You're Crying (3:33)
25. Make Me a Present of You (3:45)

CD 3
1. Everybody Loves My Baby (2:42)
2. After You've Gone (3:40)
3. Backwater Blues (5:01)
4. Careless Love (3:38)
5. Fine Fat Daddy (3:09)
6. Me and My Gin (3:14)
7. Trombone Butter (3:33)
8. What a Diff'rence a Day Makes (2:31)
9. Unforgettable (2:45)
10. Baby (You've Got What It Takes) (2:48)
11. Daybreak (2:34)
12. Forgotton (2:18)
13. Good Morning, Heartache (2:51)
14. Harbor Lights (3:04)
15. I'll Never Kiss You Goodbye (2:30)
16. A Rockin' Good Way (To Mess Around and Fall In Love) (2:29)
17. September In the Rain (2:10)
18. Tell Love Hello (2:48)
19. I Don't Hurt Anymore (3:13)
20. Softly (Baby) (2:32)
21. Red Sails In the Sunset (2:34)
22. Coquette (2:58)
23. I'll Close My Eyes (2:52)
24. Do Nothin' till You Hear From Me (2:20)
25. That's My Desire (2:55)
26. Say It Isn't So (3:12)
27. It's a Mean Old Man's World (3:11)