Synopsis Dinah Washington sang in and played the piano for her church choir and in 1939 began to sing and play piano in various Chicago nightclubs. From 1943 to 1946 she sang with the Lionel Hampton band and in 1946 began a successful solo career. During the period from 1949 to 1955, her recordings were consistently among the top 10 hits of the rhythm-and-blues charts. Continue reading Profile: Dinah Washington