EXCLUSIVE: A large-scale biopic based on the life of the legendary jazz and blues vocalist Dinah Washington is in the works, with veteran British playwright Winsome Pinnock signed on to write the script and Danny Glover executive producing.
The film will chronicle a pivotal two-week period in London at the height of Washington’s career, following the international success of her 1959 Grammy-winning crossover hit “What A Difference A Day Made.”
“Dinah was a superlative musician who harnessed the power of music to disrupt, resist, and heal,” Pinnock said in a statement. “ While her rebelliousness came at a cost, it allowed her to transcend the expectations placed on Black women and blaze a trail for every artist who came after her.”
Born Ruth Lee Jones, Washington was born in Alabama and moved to Chicago as a child, where she grew up in the church, playing the piano and directing the choir. At 15, after winning an amateur contest at the famous Regal Theater, she landed her first professional gigs and recorded her first singles. Washington would go on to dominate the charts throughout the 1950s and early ‘60s, earning the moniker the “Queen of the Blues.”
Dinah Washington. Credit: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images.
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Many of Washington’s most famous recordings, such as “What a Diff’rence a Day Makes”, “Nobody Knows the Way I Feel This Morning”, and “Mad About the Boy” are now classics across genres and endlessly reproduced in films, TV, and commercials. But after Washington died in 1963, her music was largely overlooked until the mid-1980s. Covers of her songs by contemporary artists, including Amy Winehouse, Lady Gaga, and Ledisi, reintroduced her legacy to a new generation.
“Dinah’s voice was a force of nature. It could break your heart and lift your spirit in the same breath,” Glover said of Washington. “As someone who has spent decades honoring the legacy of jazz and blues, I see this film as essential. I was honored and excited to become involved in this project.”
Pinnock is a British stage veteran. She was the first Black British woman to have a play produced by the National Theatre. Her stage credits include The Wind of Change, Leave Taking, Picture Palace, A Hero’s Welcome, A Rock in Water, and Talking in Tongues.
“It’s taken 23 years to bring her story to this point,” said producer Angie Lee Cobbs, who is shepherding the project at Rolling Fork Productions after securing the life rights from the Washington Estate. “Winsome brings the perfect combination of artistic brilliance and a deep understanding of what it means to be a groundbreaking woman of color in the arts. Her voice will be essential in honoring Dinah’s legacy.”
Cobbs is a Chicago native. She has worked in production on a variety of feature projects, including Miami Vice, Avengers: Infinity War, and High Flying Bird.
Washington’s grandchildren are supporting the project. They added in a statement: “Our grandmother’s singing went beyond the lyrics. It was a connection with her audience rooted in shared emotion, struggle, and truth. Preserving her legacy is incredibly important to us, and we cannot wait to share her story with audiences around the world.”
