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| COUNT BASIE (August 21 1904 - 26 April 1984) |
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| ELLA FITZGERALD (April 25, 1917 – June 15, 1996) |
1958 was a great year for African-Americans with reguards to music. In 1958, Both Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald made history, when they bame the first African-Americans to win grammy awards for their seperate achievments,
Count Basie took home the Grammy for Best Performance By A Dance Band and Best Jazz Performance by a Group for his album entitled "Basie". The very same year, Ella Fitzgerald won for Best Female Vocal Performance for her song "But Not For Me" and Best Jazz Performance, Individual for "Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Songbook".
Music is something that has been instilled into the many aspects of the black culture, and is something we excell at. The Grammy Awards is the premier of award shows; recognizing the outstanding musical capabilities of many talented people. In honor of the 53rd annual Grammy Awards, I've chosen too remind everyone of two great African-American musical artists who were--and still are, fixtures of the music industry. Count and Ella were given the prestigious Grammy Awards 53 years ago, ushering in a wave of continuous excellence. Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald, two overwhelming reasons why black history should be celebrated year 'round(K*W)
