Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was born to James Edward Ellington and Daisy Kennedy Ellington on April 29, 1899. They lived with his maternal grandparents at 2129 Ida Place (now Ward Place), NW in the West End neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
Daisy and J.E. were both pianists. Daisy primarily played parlor songs and J.E. preferred operatic arias.
Ellington's father worked sometimes as a caterer at the White House.
Ellington's friends noticed that he acted like a gentleman, and gave him a nickname, "Duke"
Despite the fact that both of his parents were amateur pianists, Ellington preferred baseball to piano lessons when he was a child. Sometimes Teddy Roosevelt would ride by on his horse and stop to watch Duke and his friends play.
His first job was selling peanuts at Washington Senators baseball games.
In 1914, Ellington wrote his first song. He had a job in a café, serving soda, using a soda fountain. His song was called "Soda Fountain Rag."
Ellington married his high school sweetheart, Edna Thompson on July 2, 1918, when he was 19.
Shortly after their marriage, on March 11, 1919 Edna gave birth to their only son, Mercer Kennedy Ellington.
Mercer Ellington became a jazz trumpeter and composer. He lead his own bands, many of whose members went on to play with his father, or to achieve independent fame (notably Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus, and Carmen McRae).
Between 1917 and 1919, Ellington started his professional music career. During the day, he had a job painting signs. At night, he played the piano.
In about 1918 he formed a band to play local engagements, and by 1923 he was in New York City leading a small band at the Kentucky Club.
As the leader of his own orchestra, Ellington became the first arranger to integrate "hot' jazz solos within the framework of a written score.
Duke Ellington's orchestra was the house band at the Cotton Club from December 4, 1927, to June 30, 1931. The club gave Ellington national exposure through radio broadcasts originating there.
"Mood Indigo" was first recorded by Duke Ellington for Brunswick Records on October 15, 1930. The song was developed from an instrumental called "Dreamy Blues," written by one of the best musicians in New Orleans in the early 20th century, Lorenzo Tio, Jr. It became a standard of not only Ellington's orchestra, but it has been recorded countless times by musical legends such as Dinah Washington, Frank Sinatra, and Ella Fitzgerald.
Duke Ellington's "It Don't Mean a Thing (If it Ain't Got that Swing)," released on February 2, 1932, introduced the word "swing" into the popular lexicon. Ellington was not really trying to do that. He said that "swing" was simply "Harlem for rhythm."
Duke Ellington wrote the score for his 1934 standard "(In My) Solitude" in 20 minutes at a Chicago studio, as he waited for an over-running band to finish their slot.
He wrote nearly 6,000 jazz pieces in total.
He had synesthesia, a neurological condition where he experienced notes as colors and textures.
Ellington lived for years in a townhouse on the corner of Manhattan's Riverside Drive and West 106th Street. After his death, West 106th Street was officially renamed Duke Ellington Boulevard.
Ellington led his band from 1923 until he died of lung cancer on May 24, 1974 aged 75. His son Mercer Ellington took over the band until he died of cancer in 1996. Then Paul Ellington, Mercer's youngest son, took over the band.
His legacy continued to rise after his death, and Ellington was awarded a special Pulitzer Prize for music in 1999.
Daisy and J.E. were both pianists. Daisy primarily played parlor songs and J.E. preferred operatic arias.
Ellington's father worked sometimes as a caterer at the White House.
Ellington's friends noticed that he acted like a gentleman, and gave him a nickname, "Duke"
Despite the fact that both of his parents were amateur pianists, Ellington preferred baseball to piano lessons when he was a child. Sometimes Teddy Roosevelt would ride by on his horse and stop to watch Duke and his friends play.
His first job was selling peanuts at Washington Senators baseball games.
In 1914, Ellington wrote his first song. He had a job in a café, serving soda, using a soda fountain. His song was called "Soda Fountain Rag."
Ellington married his high school sweetheart, Edna Thompson on July 2, 1918, when he was 19.
Shortly after their marriage, on March 11, 1919 Edna gave birth to their only son, Mercer Kennedy Ellington.
Mercer Ellington became a jazz trumpeter and composer. He lead his own bands, many of whose members went on to play with his father, or to achieve independent fame (notably Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus, and Carmen McRae).
Between 1917 and 1919, Ellington started his professional music career. During the day, he had a job painting signs. At night, he played the piano.
In about 1918 he formed a band to play local engagements, and by 1923 he was in New York City leading a small band at the Kentucky Club.
As the leader of his own orchestra, Ellington became the first arranger to integrate "hot' jazz solos within the framework of a written score.
Duke Ellington's orchestra was the house band at the Cotton Club from December 4, 1927, to June 30, 1931. The club gave Ellington national exposure through radio broadcasts originating there.
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| Ellington poses with his piano at the KFG Radio Studio November 3, 1954. |
"Mood Indigo" was first recorded by Duke Ellington for Brunswick Records on October 15, 1930. The song was developed from an instrumental called "Dreamy Blues," written by one of the best musicians in New Orleans in the early 20th century, Lorenzo Tio, Jr. It became a standard of not only Ellington's orchestra, but it has been recorded countless times by musical legends such as Dinah Washington, Frank Sinatra, and Ella Fitzgerald.
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| "Mood Indigo" record by Duke Ellington orchestra |
Duke Ellington's "It Don't Mean a Thing (If it Ain't Got that Swing)," released on February 2, 1932, introduced the word "swing" into the popular lexicon. Ellington was not really trying to do that. He said that "swing" was simply "Harlem for rhythm."
He wrote nearly 6,000 jazz pieces in total.
He had synesthesia, a neurological condition where he experienced notes as colors and textures.
Ellington lived for years in a townhouse on the corner of Manhattan's Riverside Drive and West 106th Street. After his death, West 106th Street was officially renamed Duke Ellington Boulevard.
Ellington led his band from 1923 until he died of lung cancer on May 24, 1974 aged 75. His son Mercer Ellington took over the band until he died of cancer in 1996. Then Paul Ellington, Mercer's youngest son, took over the band.
His legacy continued to rise after his death, and Ellington was awarded a special Pulitzer Prize for music in 1999.
Duke Ellington began working on an opera called Queenie Pie in the 1930s, but it was never completed before his death . The story was inspired by the life of Madam C.J. Walker, a prominent African-American entrepreneur and philanthropist. The opera was intended to be a commentary on the beauty industry and the pursuit of success in American society.
Ellington worked on Queenie Pie on and off throughout his career, and he performed some of the music from the opera in concerts and recordings. After his death, several musicians and composers attempted to finish the opera using the materials that Ellington had left behind, but no definitive version has been established.
Stevie Wonder’s 1977 hit "Sir Duke" was written in Ellington's honor.
Sources Songfacts.com, Wikipedia
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