Top 10 Female Vocal Performances (vocal only)


"Vocal only" means that those who are also play an instrument on the recording belong in another category.
  1. Ella Fitzgerald: "How High the Moon" from Mack the Knife: Ella in Berlin
  2. Billie Holiday: "Don't Explain" from Decca Recordings, reissued on various collections
  3. Sarah Vaughan: "Lullaby of Birdland" from Sarah Vaughan with Clifford Brown (reissued under various titles)
  4. Maria Booker: "Dindi" from Super Nova by Wayne Shorter
  5. Bessie Smith: "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" reissued on various collections on Columbia
  6. Cassandra Wilson: "I Didn't Know What Time it Was" from Blue Skies
  7. Abbey Lincoln: "When Malindy Sings" from Straight Ahead
  8. Mahalia Jackson: "Come Sunday" from Black, Brown and Beige by Duke Ellington (1950's version)
  9. Nancy Wilson: "Prelude to a Kiss" from But Beautiful
  10. Carmen McRae: "Listen To Monk (Rhythm-a-Ning) " from Carmen Sings Monk