Dakota Staton (June 3, 1930 – April 10, 2007) was an American
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
vocalist who found international acclaim with the 1957 No. 4 hit "The Late, Late Show". She was also known by the
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
name Aliyah Rabia for a period due to her conversion to
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...
as interpreted by the
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
Ahmadiyya (, ), officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community or the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ, ar, الجماعة الإسلامية الأحمدية, al-Jamāʿah al-Islāmīyah al-Aḥmadīyah; ur, , translit=Jamā'at Aḥmadiyyah Musl ...
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, she attended George Westinghouse High School, and studied music at the Filion School of Music in Pittsburgh. Later she performed regularly in the
Hill District
The Hill District is a grouping of historically African American neighborhoods in the City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Beginning in the years leading up to World War I, "the Hill" was the cultural center of black life in the city and a major cen ...
, a jazz hotspot, as a vocalist with the Joe Westray Orchestra, a popular Pittsburgh orchestra. She next spent several years in the nightclub circuit in such cities as
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
,
Indianapolis
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
,
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...
and
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
. While in New York, she was noticed singing at a
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...
nightclub called the Baby Grand by
Dave Cavanaugh
David Cavanaugh, also known as Dave Cavanaugh or occasionally Big Dave Cavanaugh, (March 13, 1919 – December 31, 1981) was an American composer, arranger, musician and producer.
, a producer for
Capitol Records
Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of not ...
. She was signed and released several singles, her success leading her to win '' Down Beat'' magazine's "Most Promising Newcomer" award in 1955. In 1958, Staton wed
Talib Dawud
Talib Ahmad Dawood (formerly Alfonso Nelson Rainey, born January 26, 1923, on Antigua; died 9 July 1999, New York City) was an American jazz trumpeter.
Career
Dawud came from Antigua and Barbuda, taking lessons from his father, a trumpeter who p ...
, a black
Antigua
Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...
-born
Ahmadi
Ahmadiyya (, ), officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community or the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ, ar, الجماعة الإسلامية الأحمدية, al-Jamāʿah al-Islāmīyah al-Aḥmadīyah; ur, , translit=Jamā'at Aḥmadiyyah Musl ...
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
, a
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
trumpeter and noted critic of
Elijah Muhammad
Elijah Muhammad (born Elijah Robert Poole; October 7, 1897 – February 25, 1975) was an African American religious leader, black separatist, and self-proclaimed Messenger of Allah, who led the Nation of Islam (NOI) from 1934 until his dea ...
. She subsequently converted to Islam and used the name Aliyah Rabia for some time. The marriage ultimately ended in divorce.
She released several critically acclaimed albums in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including: '' The Late, Late Show'' (1957), whose title track was her biggest hit, '' In the Night'' (1958), a collaboration with pianist
George Shearing
Sir George Albert Shearing, (13 August 1919 14 February 2011) was a British jazz pianist who for many years led a popular jazz group that recorded for Discovery Records, MGM Records and Capitol Records. Shearing was the composer of over 300 ...
, ''Dynamic!'' (1958) and ''Dakota at Storyville'' (1962), a live album recorded at the Storyville jazz club in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
. In the mid-1960s Staton moved to
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
, where she recorded the album ''Dakota ′67''. Returning to the US in the early 1970s,Dakota Staton biography Pittsburgh Music History. she continued to record semi-regularly, her recordings taking an increasingly strong
gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...
and
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...
influence. She suffered a
stroke
A stroke is a disease, medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemorr ...
in 1999, after which her health deteriorated. Staton died in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
aged 76 in 2007.
Discography
* '' The Late, Late Show'' (Capitol, 1957)
* ''Dynamic!'' (Capitol, 1958)
* '' In the Night'' with George Shearing (Capitol, 1958)
* ''Time to Swing'' (Capitol, 1959)
* ''More Than the Most'' (Capitol, 1959)
* ''Crazy He Calls Me'' (Capitol, 1959)
* ''Sings Ballads and the Blues'' (Capitol, 1960)
* ''Softly'' (Capitol, 1960)
* ''Dakota'' (Capitol, 1960)
* '' 'Round Midnight'' (Capitol, 1961)
* ''Dakota at Storyville'' (Capitol, 1962)
* ''From Dakota with Love'' (United Artists, 1962)
* ''Live and Swinging'' (United Artists, 1964)
* ''Dakota Staton with Strings'' (United Artists, 1964)
* ''Dakota '67'' (London, 1966)
* ''I've Been There'' (Verve, 1970)
* ''
Madame Foo-Foo
''Madame Foo-Foo'' is an album by American jazz vocalist Dakota Staton recorded in 1972 and released on the Groove Merchant label.I Want a Country Man
''I Want a Country Man'' is an album by American jazz vocalist Dakota Staton recorded in 1973 and released on the Groove Merchant label.Ms. Soul'' (Groove Merchant, 1974)
* ''Uniquely Dakota'' (Half Moon, 1983)
* ''No Man Is Going to Change Me'' (GP, 1985)
* ''Dakota Staton'' with Manny Albam (LRC, 1990)
* ''Dakota Staton'' (Muse, 1991)
* ''Moonglow'' (LRC, 1991)
* ''Darling Please Save Your Love for Me'' (Muse, 1992)
* ''Isn't This a Lovely Day'' (Muse, 1995)
* ''Congratulations'' (Giants of Jazz, 1999)
* ''A Packet of Love Letters'' (HighNote, 1999)
* ''Congratulations to Someone'' (LRC, 2002)
* ''Live at Milestones'' (Caffe Jazz, 2007)