Dakota Staton (b. June 3, 1930, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – d. April 10, 2007, New York, New York) was an American jazz vocalist who found international acclaim with the 1957 No. 4 hit "The Late, Late Show". She was also known by her Muslim name Aliyah Rabia for a period due to her conversion to Islam and affiliation with the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.
Born in the Homewood neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 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, 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, Indianapolis, Cleveland and St. Louis. While in New York, she was noticed singing at a Harlem nightclub called the Baby Grand by Dave Cavanaugh, a producer for Capitol Records. 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, a black Antigua-born Ahmadi Muslim who was a jazz trumpeter and a noted critic of Elijah Muhammad. Staton subsequently converted to Islam and used the name Aliyah Rabia for some time. The marriage ultimately ended in divorce.
Staton 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, Dynamic! (1958) and Dakota at Storyville (1962), a live album recorded at the Storyville jazz club in Boston. In the mid-1960s, Staton moved to England, where she recorded the album Dakota ′67. Returning to the United States in the early 1970s, she continued to record semi-regularly, her recordings reflecting an increasingly strong gospel and blues influence.
Staton suffered a stroke in 1999, after which her health deteriorated. Dakota Staton died in New York City on April 10, 2007 at the age of 76.
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The Thrill is Gone - Dakota Staton - Bing video
Dakota Staton — My Funny Valentine - YouTube
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Dakota Staton, 76, Jazz Singer With a Sharp, Bluesy Sound, Dies
Dakota Staton, a highly respected jazz and blues singer known from the 1950s on for her bright, trumpetlike sound and tough, sassy style, died on Tuesday in Manhattan. She was 76 and had lived in New York for many years.
Sharynn Harper, a spokeswoman for Ms. Staton’s family, confirmed the death, citing no specific cause. She said Ms. Staton had been in declining health in recent years.
In 1957, Ms. Staton (pronounced STAY-ton) burst on the scene with her first full-length album, “The Late, Late Show,” released by Capitol Records. The album was a hit, and the title track became her most famous number. Her other well-known songs include “Broadway” and “My Funny Valentine,” from the same album, and “What Do You Know About Love?,” which she recorded earlier as a single for Capitol.
Ms. Staton, who recorded more than two dozen albums, was widely praised by critics and worked with many distinguished musicians, among them the pianist George Shearing and the arrangers Nelson Riddle and Sid Feller. But she never attained the fame of singers like Dinah Washington, whom she cited as a deep influence. This may have been partly because Ms. Staton was born a hair too late; by the time she began recording albums, rock ’n’ roll was shouldering aside her brand of bluesy jazz.
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She continued performing well into her 60s, however. Writing in The New York Times in 1998, Robert Sherman called Ms. Staton “one of America’s great vocal stylists.”
Dakota Staton was born in Pittsburgh on June 3, 1930, and began singing and dancing as a child. By the time she was 18, she was singing in nightclubs in Detroit and other Midwestern cities; she later settled in New York. In 1955, Down Beat magazine voted her the most promising newcomer of the year.
In the late 1950s, Ms. Staton married Talib Dawud, a trumpeter; the marriage ended in divorce. (Ms. Staton, who converted to Islam after her marriage, used the name Aliyah Rabia for a time.) Her brother, Fred Staton, a saxophonist who lives in New York City, is her only immediate survivor.
Among Ms. Staton’s other albums are “Dynamic!” (Capitol, 1958); “Dakota at Storyville” (Capitol, 1961); “Isn’t This a Lovely Day” (Muse, 1992); and “Live at Milestones” (Caffe Jazz), released last month.
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