December 14, 1963: Dinah Washington, "The Queen of the Blues," dies at her home in Detroit, of an overdose of prescription drugs, apparently accidental. She was 39.
She was born as Ruth Lee Jones on August 29, 1924 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and grew up in Chicago. By 1942, she was singing with the great jazz bandleader Fats Waller. After his death in 1943, she joined Lionel Hampton's band, making her first recordings in 1944.
By 1948, she was regularly making Billboard magazine's R&B chart. In 1950, her version of "I Wanna Be Loved" hit Number 22 on its pop chart. In 1951, she became an early "crossover" star, by taking Hank Williams' "Cold, Cold Heart" to Number 3 on the R&B chart.
She had Top 10 hits with versions of "What a Diff'rence a Day Makes" (which, in 1959, won the 1st-ever Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance), "Broken-Hearted Melody," Nat King Cole's "Unforgettable," and duets with Brook Benton: "Baby (You've Got What It Takes)" and "A Rockin' Good Way (To Mess Around and Fall In Love)."
But her personal life was troubled. It's not clear how many times she was married: Sources have suggested between 6 and 9, with no known children. And, like Elvis Presley, prescriptions for pills to handle weight and insomnia contributed to her death. At the time, she was married to Dick "Night Train" Lane of the Detroit Lions, one of the greatest defensive backs of all time.
In 1993, she was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in its "Early Influence" category.
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December 14, 1963 was a Saturday. Actress Cynthia Gibb was born. And the Baldwin Hills Dam broke in Los Angeles, killing 5 people. I have a separate entry for that event.
Baseball was out of season. There were no games played in the NFL. In the American Football League, the New York Jets lost to the Buffalo Bills, 19-10. This was the last event ever held at the Polo Grounds. I have a separate entry for that event as well.
Also in the AFL that day, the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Boston Patriots, 35-3 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. In the National Football League, the Green Bay Packers beat the San Francisco 49ers, 21-17 at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco. The rest of both Leagues played the next day, Sunday.
It was the last weekend of the college football season before the bowl games, and only 2 games were played. The University of Houston beat the University of Louisville, 21-7 at Rice Stadium in Houston, where they were groundsharing with their crosstown rivals, Rice University.
And Number 9 Alabama, coached by Paul "Bear" Bryant and quarterbacked by Joe Namath, beat the University of Miami, 17-12 at the Orange Bowl stadium in Miami. 'Bama and the University of Mississippi, each of whom had faced an integration crisis over the last year and change, did not play each other in the regular season, but 'Bama's losses to Florida and arch-rival Auburn, along with Ole Miss' undefeated season, gave Ole Miss the Southeastern Conference Championship. But since 'Bama hadn't had their shot at Ole Miss, they were pitted against each other in the Sugar Bowl, which traditionally features the SEC Champion, and 'Bama won, 12-7.
There were 4 games played in the NBA that day:
* The New York Knicks lost to the Philadelphia 76ers, 123-119 at the old Madison Square Garden.
* The Cincinnati Royals beat the Boston Celtics, 108-105 at the Boston Garden.
* The St. Louis Hawks beat the Detroit Pistons, 104-92 at the Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis.
* And the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Baltimore Bullets, 113-108 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. Jerry West led all scorers on the day with 38 points.
The NHL's entire "Original Six" was in action that day:
* The New York Rangers lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs, 5-3 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.
* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins, 3-1 at the Montreal Forum.
* And the Detroit Red Wings beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 5-4 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit.
And in English soccer, Arsenal, the North London team that I would one day support, traveled to the Birmingham area, and played Wolverhampton Wanderers, a.k.a. Wolves, to a 2-2 draw.
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