Singer Deborah Cox has recorded a tribute album to Dinah Washington called Destination Moon. "Everyone has done tributes to Billie, to Ella, to Sarah. I really wanted to pay homage to this woman who people don't know very much about," Cox said. (Michael Peake, Sun Media)

Just as actress Halle Berry made it her mission to tell the story of actress Dorothy Dandridge, singer Deborah Cox has taken up the mantle for the late singer Dinah Washington with her new album Destination Moon.

"The attraction with her was the legacy of her music, spirit and dynamic of her talent, ability and story," Cox told Sun Media last week. "And everyone has done tributes to Billie (Holiday), to Ella (Fitzgerald), to Sarah (Vaughan). I really wanted to pay homage to this woman who people don't know very much about."

The 12-track album of jazz and big-band standards features This Bitter Earth and Baby, You've Got What it Takes, two of Washington's biggest hits and the latter of which Cox had a slight snag with.

"Originally it was a duet and the duet partner I had approached wanted to do a duet on the R&B album, they weren't particularly excited about doing something on the jazz album," she says. "They were afraid of going in that direction. I said if everyone is so afraid of doing a duet then I'll do it myself. If Dinah was alive she would have done it her damn self as well."

'CHANNELING' SINGER

Cox also says it was challenging trying to put her own spin on the songs while staying true to the original arrangements.

"There were times where it felt like I was channeling her," she says. "I started talking like her and emulating her and I had to take a break from it so I could find my own voice so that it was a tribute. I wanted the influence to be there but I didn't want it to feel like I was copying her."

Destination Moon, which was produced by Rob Mounsey, also featured Cox singing live with a 40-piece orchestra, something she seemed antsy about.

"It was intimidating, scary and exciting all at the same time," she says. "If one person screws up, that's it, you know. And you don't want it to be you to screw up the whole thing. I really just had to focus on what I was doing and not get caught up."

Another challenge Cox had was simply selecting the material. While the album features highlights such as I Don't Hurt Anymore, Look to the Rainbow and Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, Cox says this album just scratches the surface.

VOLUME TWO?

"I think what I'm going to have to do is do another volume," she says with a laugh. "Volume Two and probably a live DVD so I can get some of those other great songs out there because she had such a wide range of music which I loved."

Aside from her music, which will include much touring this year, Cox is also busy working on films. She recently completed work on A Good Man is Hard to Find in Louisiana and also is slated to star in The Grasslands, where she plays a detective.

"I have to put on my CSI hat for that," she says.

But Cox has more plans related to Washington, who passed away in 1963 at the age of 39. Although in the early stages, Cox is taking a biography on Washington and adapting it for the big screen.

Cox says Patti Austin, Washington's god-daughter, loved Destination Moon. Yet her biggest fan might be Cox's mother.

"She's really excited because it's their era," she says. "All the old, old folks love it. 'This is real music here. It's great. It's great. It's great.' "