Roger's Femme lists got me thinking. Has there ever been a big hit
instrumental by a female artist?

Camille Howard had one in 1948, but I'm drawing a blank on anything
else.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_YAjZK0pFU

--

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On Wed, 19 Feb 2025 17:27:58 +0000, Bruce wrote:

Roger's Femme lists got me thinking. Has there ever been a big hit instrumental by a female artist?

Camille Howard had one in 1948, but I'm drawing a blank on anything
else.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_YAjZK0pFU

Of course there's been a couple of hits---#1 hits to be exact---by a
female artist but the y've been here in Brtain


In 1954 pianist Winifred Atwell topped the UK chart with "Let's Have
Another Party" on Philips---a medley of several old time favorites like "Somebody Stole My Gal" etc (you get the picture)

Then in early 1956 the same Winifred Atwell was #1 here with her piano
version of "Poor People Of Paris" on Decca---well outselling the US Les
Baxter version here in UK

In 1959 organist Cherry Wainer came pretty near charting with her
instrumental of "I'll Walk The Line" (sic)-the Cash number

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On 2/19/2025 12:27 PM, Bruce wrote:

Roger's Femme lists got me thinking. Has there ever been a big hit instrumental by a female artist?

Camille Howard had one in 1948, but I'm drawing a blank on anything
else.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_YAjZK0pFU

--

I can't think of anything from our era or our genres, but there have
been female instrumentalist stars in the niche markets of classical,
jazz, and yes, klezmer music.

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On Wed, 19 Feb 2025 17:27:58 +0000, [email protected] (Bruce) wrote:

Roger's Femme lists got me thinking. Has there ever been a big hit >instrumental by a female artist?

Camille Howard had one in 1948, but I'm drawing a blank on anything
else.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_YAjZK0pFU

In the UK, WINIFRED ATWELL
{queen of elaborate and talented tinkle tinkle piano :-}

" Winifred Atwell was a Trinidadian-British pianist who became one of
the most popular instrumentalists in the UK during the 1950s. She was
known for her ragtime and boogie-woogie piano style.

Atwell had several top 10 hits in the UK, many of which were piano-led instrumentals.

Notable Tracks:

Britannia Rag (1952) � UK top 10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xm1x5Qpmrw
Let's Have Another Party (1954) � UK No. 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCFJO98u4ys
The Poor People of Paris (1956) � UK No. 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCV5pMXwcIA "

---------------------------------------------------

In the UK, CHERRY WAINER {hotter than talented 'tinkle tinkle' piano}

(I've only just discovered Cherry myself - thanks to Bruce & DeepSeek)

South African-born organist who spent 10 years or so in UK before
moving to Las Vagas.
https://www.discogs.com/artist/552494-Cherry-Wainer https://www.45cat.com/artist/cherry-wainer

Last Night - Live - 1963
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulHkPZhF4c4 (this rocks!)

Cerveza [UK Pye Nixa 7N 15161] - 1958 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycvPe-OCK6Y
the b-side Itchy Twitchy Feeling has a vocal by Cherry Wainer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKnEstNWR5g
Joe Meek was the recording engineer for both sides

The Happy Organ [UK Pye Nixa 7N.15197] - 1959 (good version) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udCMJvCl_C8

Sabre Dance - Live - 1960
https://youtu.be/K-VLRVo3XUk?t=208

Money (That's what I want) [UK Columbia DB 4528] - 1960 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ku-mXmSQJ0s

a combination of her "Rhythmus in the Blut" album (1964) and her
"It's Hammond Time!" album (1965):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-7vV268h6U

Cherry Wainer (organ) and Nico Carstons (accordion)
Flying High *Album* [South Africa Columbia] - 1958 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNmgjsx91V8
track 1 is "Hound Dog"

Cherry Pink *Album* - 1957 [South Africa HMV] - 1957 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1kOYx0KUcM&t=12s
well-known pop ballads,
except tracks 7 & 8 - Little Darlin' and High Society Calypso
both have duet vocals (Cherry and her career-long drummer
{who she married in '62} Don Storer); 'Calypso' is a novelty
https://youtu.be/D1kOYx0KUcM?t=578

** Collection of TV appearances (107 still available) ** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtDG9ZbAHIg&list=PLOvucQtyZA1-obWjcQmoK0E32wkVbb56l

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On Wed, 19 Feb 2025 19:45:48 -0500, DianeE <[email protected]> wrote:

On 2/19/2025 12:27 PM, Bruce wrote:

Roger's Femme lists got me thinking. Has there ever been a big hit
instrumental by a female artist?

Camille Howard had one in 1948, but I'm drawing a blank on anything
else.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_YAjZK0pFU

--

I can't think of anything from our era or our genres, but there have
been female instrumentalist stars in the niche markets of classical,
jazz, and yes, klezmer music.

Such as DOROTHY DONEGAN (1922 � 1998), a classically trained jazz
pianist known for her eclectic style. Donegan was known for her
vibrant performances and her ability to blend different genres,
including stride, boogie-woogie, bop, swing, and classical music. https://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/artist/dorothy-donegan

according to Discogs, her first single was released in 1942:

Piano Boogie / Every Day Blues [Bluebird B-8979] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDzk49amopA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DeZZrUgM7g

her second single was released in 1947:
The Man I Love / Two Loves Wuz One Too Many For Me [Continental
C-6058]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXSzCfl7Du8 {a later recording} https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgsCyNpa3J0 {original shellac}

later Singles listing: https://www.discogs.com/artist/395866-Dorothy-Donegan?page=2

On YouTube are most of her **albums** released up to 1964:

**Dorothy Donegan** (1955)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEjU5osDA4Y

**At the Embers** (1957)
**Live** (1959)
**Donnybrook With Donegan** (1959)
**It Happened One Night** (1961) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATFMGpyVAjw

"Flight of the Bumblebee" (?)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrXolx5XOH4

FOR MUCH MORE AUDIO, visit https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC15C_VLNitpMdPqkGFBEb_Q
and click on 'view all'

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