Ella Fitzgerald became the first artist to win five consecutive Grammy Awards for Best Jazz Vocal Performance.
Fitzgerald achieved the feat from 1959 through 1963. Her winning recordings included albums in her celebrated Song Book series, through which she interpreted major American composers such as Cole Porter, Duke Ellington, Irving Berlin, and George Gershwin.
Her Grammy success reflected several strengths: exceptional pitch, rhythmic precision, clear diction, and masterful scat singing. She could move from a delicate ballad to rapid improvised lines without losing her sense of swing. Norman Granz’s Verve label played a major role in presenting her as a premier interpreter of the American popular songbook.
The record is sometimes muddled with Fitzgerald’s total Grammy count or with later Grammy lifetime honors. The specific achievement concerns five straight wins in the Best Jazz Vocal Performance category, a remarkable run during the Grammy Awards’ early years.