Jan

23

2012

Music Minute!

Written by Trent | Filed under Music Minute

Did you know that Ella Fitzgerald was the first African American woman to win a Grammy Award?

Fitzgerald won trophies for Best Jazz Performance, Individual and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female at the first Grammy ceremony, which was hosted on May 4th 1959. The only other African American who won a Grammy that evening was Count Basie for Best Performance by a Dance Band.

Throughout her career, Fitzgerald won thirteen Grammys and was the first woman to win the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1967. Additionally, four of her albums and two of her singles have been honored with the Grammy Hall of Fame Award.

Watch Fitzgerald perform her iconic version of ‘Summertime’ from her 1958 ‘Porgy & Bess’ album, which earned the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 2001, below:

Now you know!

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Keys: ella fitzgerald

7 Comments

1. QUEEN XTINA COMING !!! :D -- MAD?--- says:

   January 23, 2012 at 1:36 pm

   Who Cares ?
2. Matt says:

   January 23, 2012 at 2:03 pm

   Get yourself together she is a legend!
3. Shea Butter says:

   January 23, 2012 at 2:12 pm

   If you can’t care about a vital piece of music history that opened the door for countless female acts of color(and other) of the past and today… … well your opinion is irrelevant.

   You rep Xtina but shade Ella!!! The audacity! It’s really kind of tragic…
4. RHITARD COULD NEVER says:

   January 23, 2012 at 3:11 pm

   QUEEN XTINA COMING !!! — MAD?— > IS NOT AN XTINA STAN!
5. lmfaooooo! says:

   January 23, 2012 at 3:19 pm

   Really! i thought Rihanna was the first.
6. DOMOdotSCORE says:

   January 23, 2012 at 3:23 pm

   @ Queen Xtina Coming,
   Ella totally paved the way for singers so show a little bit of respect to those that came before.

   Thanks for this information, Trent.
   Anyways,
7. SparkD says:

   January 24, 2012 at 12:16 am

   Every pop singer out there will be 50% better, if they just studied the musicianship of Ella.

   Disrespectful dummies!