Winifred atwell biography

Atwood, I saac M organ Atwood, Margaret -. Atwood, Margaret —. Atwood, Margaret Eleanor Atwood, Margaret: Further Reading. Atwood, Margaret: General Commentary. Atwood, Margaret: Introduction. Atwood, Margaret: Primary Sources. Atwood, Margaret: Principal Works. Atwood, Margaret: Title Commentary. Atwood, Mary Ann Atwood, Susan —. Atwood, Wallace Walter.

She had a way of bringing people together, regardless of race or class. With her upbeat rhythms and infectious energy, Atwell crossed boundaries and broke down walls. She knew how to make people feel good, and that was her secret. Her performances were full of joy and vitality. Whether she was playing a ragtime tune or giving a classical piece her unique twist, Atwell made music feel approachable and fun.

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Winifred atwell biography

Albums [ edit ]. Singles [ edit ]. Explanatory notes [ edit ]. Many sources suggest 27 February , but there is a strong suggestion that her birthday was 27 April. Most sources give her year of birth as , but her gravestone states that she died at the age of 73, suggesting that she was born in References [ edit ]. Retrieved 12 February Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online ed.

Oxford University Press. Subscription or UK public library membership required. Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. ISBN BBC Bitesize. Retrieved 12 October The New York Age : The New York Age : 5. The Stage : 4. Atwell was championed by popular disc jockey Jack Jackson, who introduced her to Decca promotions manager Hugh Mendl, who launched his career as a staff producer at Decca producing Atwell's recordings.

The rag was originally performed on a concert grand for the occasion, but Atwell felt it did not sound right, and so got her husband to buy a honky tonk piano for 30 shillings, which would then be used for the released version of the song. Atwell's husband, former stage comedian Lew Levisohn, was vital in shaping her career as a variety star. The two had met in , and married soon after.

They were inseparable up to Levisohn's death in Hong Kong in December ; they had no children. He had cannily made the choice, for stage purposes, of her playing first a concert grand, then a beaten-up old upright piano. The latter was purchased from a Battersea junk shop for 50 shillings. This became famous as "my other piano". It would later feature all over the world, from Las Vegas to the Sydney Opera House, travelling over half a million miles by air throughout Atwell's concert career.

While contributing to a posthumous BBC radio appreciation of Atwell's career, Richard Stilgoe revealed that he was now the owner of the famous "other piano". When Atwell first came to Britain, she initially earned only a few pounds a week. By , her popularity had spread internationally. She signed a record contract with Decca, and her sales were soon 30, discs a week.

She was by far the biggest selling pianist of her time. She is the only holder of two gold and two silver discs for piano music in Britain, and was the first black artist in the UK to sell a million records. It was during this period that she discovered Matt Monro and persuaded Decca to sign him. Atwell's peak was the second half of the s, during which her concerts drew standing room only crowds in Europe and Australasia.

She played three Royal Variety Performances, appeared in every capital city in Europe, and played for over twenty million people. At a private party for Queen Elizabeth II, she was called back for an encore by the monarch herself, who requested "Roll Out the Barrel".