The first black artist to reach number one on the U.K. Singles chart—and the only woman instrumentalist to do so as of 2019—Winifred Atwell (1910?-1983) was born in Trinidad and Tobago, a pharmacist’s daughter who trained to follow in her family business. However, her talent as a pianist found her training in America, which led to a massively successful career in Britain and Australia.

Though her chart-topping records were often played in ragtime and boogie-woogie styles, she also occasionally ventured as a classical pianist; some of her work consisted of original compositions, while others were interpretations of popular songs.