This week on Night Lights it's "The Late Miss D," a program devoted to the 1962-63 Roulette recordings of Dinah Washington, who died at the age of 38 in 1963. Washington's Roulette period offers a mix of ballads with strings, blues, pop, and big-band jazz; although often overshadowed by her long stay on Mercury (1946-61), this last chapter in the career of a legendary singer shows her maintaining the same high standards of soulful performance. The program airs on WFIU at 11:05 p.m. Saturday night (8:05 California time, 10:05 Chicago time); you can listen live, or in the Night Lights archives, where it will be posted Monday afternoon.
Next week: "Even White Girls Get the Blues," a program devoted to 1950s blues concept LPs by Lee Wiley, Julie London, Jo Stafford, and Dinah Shore.