Queen

Dinah Washington sang pop, jazz, R&B, and gospel, but post of all she sang the blues--"Maybe I'm a Fool" and "I Wanna Be Loved" and "Muddy Water" and (of course) "What a Difference a Day Makes" and countless others--all in a distinctive a honey-and-vinegar voice that made everything she sang unmistakably her own. Dubbed both the Queen of the Blues and the Queen of the Juke Box, Dinah Washington had a short life, but a supremely eventful one, packed with songs, shows, lovers, and husbands. Controversial to the critics of her time, vastly influential to the next generation of singers, Washington will always be remembered for a life that was, first and foremost, music.