Dinah Washington

Another prominent African American artist of the twentieth century is Dinah Washington (1924-1963). Washington had a versatile voice that allowed her to sing a variety of music genres including gospel, blues, jazz, and pop. Dinah Washington’s successful music career was cut tragically short when she died of an accidental prescription drug overdose in 1963. The music community acknowledged Dinah Washington’s contributions to jazz music in 1996 when she was inducted into the Jazz Hall of Fame.