Dinah Washington - The Fabulous Miss D! The Keynote, Decca and Mercury Singles 1943-1953 [Box] [11/16] *

Artist:

Washington, Dinah

UPC:

602527469935

See Also:

Cole, Nat "King" Arnett Cobb/Dinah Washington - Cobb & His Mob In Concert Benton, Brook & Dinah Washington - Youve Got What It Takes [Import]

Description:

Personnel: Dinah Washington (vocals).
Audio Remasterer: Kevin Reeves.
Liner Note Author: Marc Myers.
Photographers: Ted Williams ; Duncan P. Schiedt; William Randolph; Paul K. Samuelson .
A four-CD box set containing 107 tracks, The Fabulous Miss D! The Keynote, Decca and Mercury Singles 1943-1953 traces the first decade of Dinah Washington`s recording career on 78s and 45s with a song on either side, starting with her stint with Lionel Hampton and continuing through the early years of her solo career. The album title implies an equivalence among the three labels for which Washington recorded in this period, but that is just a way of assuring the potential customer that those early Hampton sides -- the Keynote singles "Evil Gal Blues"/"Homeward Bound" and "Salty Papa Blues"/"I Know How to Do It" featuring a Hampton sextet, and Hampton`s Decca single "Blow Top Blues" -- are included. In fact, most of this material comes from Mercury, and that means her string of solo R&B hits starting with 1948`s "Ain`t Misbehavin`" and running through 1953`s double-sided "TV Is the Thing (This Year)"/"Fat Daddy," with the chart toppers "Am I Asking Too Much" and "Baby Get Lost" in between, along with all the B-sides (some of which also charted) and plenty of non-chart items, all in chronological order. That sequencing allows an appreciation of Washington`s development from the bluesy jazz and big-band efforts of the early recordings through jump blues to a mixture of `50s R&B and lush pop efforts. It`s clear that Mercury hoped to cross Washington over to the pop charts, and every now and then, strings and a hearty backup chorus signal an attempt to push her toward the sound of Patti Page. But only "I Wanna Be Loved" made an impression on the pop chart in this period, and the poppier efforts tended to miss the R&B charts, where Washington otherwise scored consistently in the Top Ten. Sometimes, she did so by going gutbucket and gritty, such as on "Long John Blues," perhaps the most salacious song ever written about dentistry ("You thrill me when you drill me") and a number three hit in 1949. But Washington got to the same chart peak with her version of Hank Williams` "Cold Cold Heart," which suggests both her versatility and the range of Mercury`s demands on her. Indeed, she was frequently called upon to cover pop hits for the R&B market during this period, and succeeded with such reverse crossover hits as "Harbor Lights," "My Heart Cries for You," "Wheel of Fortune," and "Tell Me Why," which, just earlier, had been pop chart entries for Sammy Kaye, Guy Mitchell, Kay Starr, and the Four Aces, respectively. And she occasionally undertook pop standards, such as "Embraceable You" and "How Deep Is the Ocean," or dipped into the Bing Crosby ("Just One More Chance") or Frank Sinatra ("I`m a Fool to Want You") catalogs, always with satisfying results. ~ William Ruhlmann

Track Listing:

DISC 1:

1. Evil Gal Blues
2. Homeward Bound
3. Salty Papa Blues
4. I Know How to Do It
5. Blow-Top Blues
6. I Can`t Get Started with You
7. Joy Juice
8. Embraceable You
9. When a Woman Loves a Man
10. On Wee Walkie Talkie
11. Slick Chick, A (On the Mellow Side)
12. Postman Blues
13. That`s Why a Woman Loves a Heel
14. I Want to Be Loved
15. Stairway to the Stars
16. Mean and Evil Blues
17. Fool That I Am
18. Since I Fell for You
19. You Can Depend on Me
20. There`s Got to Be a Change
21. Early in the Morning
22. I Love You, Yes I Do
23. Don`t Come Knockin` at My Door
24. Ain`t Misbehavin`
25. No More Lonely Gal Blues
26. West Side Baby
27. Walkin` and Talkin`

DISC 2:

1. I Want to Cry
2. Resolution Blues
3. Tell Me
4. In the Rain
5. Am I Asking Too Much
6. I Sold My Heart to the Junkman
7. It`s Too Soon to Know
8. I`ll Wait
9. Why Can`t You Behave?
10. It`s Funny
11. You Satisfy
12. Laughing Boy
13. What Can I Say After I Say I`m Sorry
14. Pete
15. Baby Get Lost
16. Long John Blues
17. Am I Really Sorry
18. I Challenge Your Kiss
19. Good Daddy Blues
20. Richest Guy in the Graveyard
21. I Only Know
22. New York, Chicago and Los Angeles
23. It Isn`t Fair
24. Journey`s End
25. I Wanna Be Loved
26. Love with Misery

DISC 3:

1. I`ll Never Be Free
2. Big Deal
3. How Deep Is the Ocean
4. Why Don`t You Think Things Over
5. Harbor Lights
6. I Can Cross My Fingers
7. Time Out for Tears
8. Only a Moment Ago
9. My Kind of Man
10. If I Loved You
11. Fast Movin` Mama
12. Juice Head Man of Mine
13. My Heart Cries for You
14. I Apologize
15. I Won`t Cry Anymore
16. Don`t Say You`re Sorry Again
17. Please Send Me Someone to Love
18. Ain`t Nobody`s Business But My Own
19. Fine Fine Daddy
20. I`m so Lonely I Would Cry
21. If You Don`t Believe I`m Leaving (Count the Days I`m Gone)
22. I`m a Fool to Want You
23. Cold, Cold Heart
24. Mixed Emotions
25. Be Fair to Me
26. Saturday Night

DISC 4:

1. Out in the Cold Again
2. Hey, Good Looking
3. Just One More Chance
4. Baby Did You Hear
5. Wheel of Fortune
6. Tell Me Why
7. Trouble in Mind
8. New Blowtop Blues
9. Mad About the Boy
10. I Can`t Face the Music (Without Singing the Blues)
11. Pillow Blues
12. Double Dealing Daddy
13. My Song
14. Half as Much
15. Stormy Weather
16. Make Believe Dreams
17. I Cried for You
18. Gambler`s Blues
19. You Let My Love Grow Cold
20. Ain`t Nothing Good
21. Lean Baby
22. Never, Never
23. TV Is the Thing (This Year)
24. Fat Daddy
25. Silent Night
26. Lord`s Prayer, The
27. My Man`s an Undertaker
28. Since My Man Has Gone and Went

Album Information

Release Date:

11/30/2010

Type:

Performer

Genre:

Blues

Subgenre:

Jump Blues

Label:

Hip-O Select

Producer:

Michele Horie; Harry Weinger (Compilation)

Catalog Number:

14668

Original Release Year:

2010

# of Discs:

4

Mono/Stereo:

Stereo

Runtime:

302 : 31

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