Winifred Atwell - Pianist 

Born in 1910 in Tunapuna, Trinidad and Tobago, Winifred Atwell grew up playing the piano and performing. She moved to the U.S to study music, then later to London to continue her studies, at the Royal Academy of Music - one of the most prestigious institutions in the world. She studied the piano. Winifred won prizes and became a first - she didn't just pass her diploma, she became the first woman to achieve the highest-grade available at the time. Although trained as a classical pianist, she also played contemporary styles such as boogie-woogie, ragtime and honky-tonk.

Her popularity soared in the 1950’s, when she topped the UK Singles Chart not once, but twice, becoming the first Black artist to have a UK number one single with the track, Let’s Have Another Party, in 1954. Overall Winifred had eleven top ten hits and was the first woman in Britain to sell over a million records. She performed to

packed theatres and appeared regularly on television, and had her own variety series, The Winifred Atwell Show. As she became more famous Winifred decided to insure her hands for £40,000 (equivalent to between £500,00.00 and £1,500,000.00 in 2025 - depending on the calculation method used).

Winifred was generous, outspoken, and politically awake - she gave away proceeds from her concerts to charities, especially those supporting children and immigrants and refused to perform in South Africa under apartheid. She toured worldwide and was especially popular in Australia. In 1969 she returned to Trinidad and set up a music school for disadvantaged youth.

Winifred Atwell passed away in 1983.

Winifred Atwell insured her hands for £40,000 in the early 1950s which is equivalent to between half a million and one and a half million pounds in 2025

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