What was Cleo Laine known as in her singing prime?

Dame Cleo Laine is a Grammy Award-winning British jazz vocalist and stage actress. She was known as the "Queen of Jazz" in her singing prime.

Famed singer Cleo Laine was born on October 28, 1927, in Southall, Middlesex, England, to a Jamaican father and English mother. She was hired as a vocalist for the Johnny Dankworth Seven in 1951 and married Dankworth in 1958. Laine was a regular on the BBC satire 'That Was the Week That Was'.

Laine is famed for not only her interpretative style, but also her four-octave range and vocal adaptability. As well as hitting deep soulful notes, Laine's thrilling scatting and crystalline top notes have become her signature. Though her natural range is that of a contralto she is able to produce a "G above high C". Derek Jewel of the Sunday Times dubbed her "quite simply the best singer in the world."

For her service to the music industry, Laine received an Order of the British Empire in 1979. Her status was elevated to Dame Commander of the British Empire in 1997. In 1983, she became the first British singer to win a Grammy Award for best female jazz vocalist.