ABSTRACT
In 1959, after a ten-year reign as the “Queen of the Harlem Blues” or “Queen of the Juke Boxes” (depending on which source one reads), Dinah Washington, an African-American rhythm and blues star known for her gospel-tinged, blues-jazz vocal style, recorded “What a Diff ’rence a Day Made.” This recording, which became Washington’s biggest pop hit, bathed her voice in the amniotic fluid of sumptuous strings and oohing choruses redolent of that part of “mainstream” (read: white) popular music that had not yet succumbed to rock ’n’ roll-but even this treatment could not quench her unrivaled ability to make even the most cosmopolitan ballad funky. It was not until 1993, however, by which time her 1959 hit had little in common with contemporary R&B, that Washington achieved the ultimate in crossover recognition when the U.S. Postmaster General issued a postage stamp bearing her visage.
