Winifred Atwell: The honky-tonk star who was Sir Elton John’s hero
The forgotten story of Winifred Atwell, the pianist from Trinidad who broke sales records
Witness History · BBC World Service
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Show Notes
Winifred Atwell was a classically-trained pianist from Trinidad who became one of the best-selling artists of the 1950s in the UK.
She played pub tunes on her battered, out-of-tune piano which travelled everywhere with her.
Her fans included Sir Elton John and Queen Elizabeth II.
She was the first instrumentalist to go to number one in the UK.
This programme, produced and presented by Vicky Farncombe, tells her story using archive interviews.
(Photo: Winifred Atwell. Credit: BBC)