Dinah Washington - Send Me To The 'Lectric Chair

Dinah Washington is singing a song that Bessie Smith used to sing. She and Aretha Franklin are the two female singers to come after Bessie who match or surpass her talents on blues-based tunes. Early in her career, Aretha modeled herself on Dinah. Here we have a video capture of a televion program and an audio track to compare. The video let's you see directly the way Dinah could act a song, how wonderful and precise her diction was, how humorous she was, and how she travelled right on the edge beween singing and speaking as she interpreted a song. The TV orchestra doesn't have great blues players like Clark Terry or Quentin Jackson who played on the audio performance, so she couldn't tear loose like she could when compatible spirits were playing with her. She has a much larger presence in the audio performance, and sounds like she's having a great time. She's throttled back in the video. She probably would have shocked a 50's TV audience through and through if she hit them full-force with her blues singing talent.It's worthwhile to listen to her entire "Sings Bessie Smith" album. Don't miss what she does with the "Jailhouse Blues" or "Backwater Blues".