A Ranking of the Top Female Vocalists in Music History

Ella could scat circles around you and make it sound like stardust. The First Lady of Song didn’t break rules—she rewrote them in ink dipped in swing. With perfect pitch and impeccable timing, she tackled jazz standards like they were playthings. Gershwin, Porter, Ellington—she didn’t just sing their songs, she owned them.

Behind that velvet tone lay a girl once orphaned, who turned her dreams into the realm of jazz royalty. She made hard work sound easy and genius sound like joy. Whether crooning or improvising mid-air, Ella’s voice was an instrument tuned by magic. If jazz has a heartbeat, it skips for her.