The Life of Duke Ellington
Edward
Ellington was born on April 29, 1899, in Washington, D.C. His mother’s name was
daisy, and his father’s James. His parents were amateur pianist, so that’s what
Ellington wanted to be when he grew up. He started to study the piano at age
seven. He earned the nickname “Duke” because he was always well dressed and he
was a gentleman to the ladies.
During school
he took art and was the best in the class at it. At the age fifteen he was
awarded the art scholarship to
Pratt Institute in Brooklyn New York. He turned the offer down to go to the art
institute and followed his dream at becoming a famous pianist, for jazz. When
the “Duke” was seventeen he began playing jazz music professionally during the
1920s he began playing his jazz music in nightclubs. The “Duke” married at age
19 to Edna Thompson, who had been his girlfriend since high school. In 1923
Ellington formed his own band called the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Also in 1929
the band made over 200 recordings and featured in a Hollywood film called,
Black and Tan. Ellington’s band got big enough to go to big American and
European Tours. That is why Ellington really became famous; he made hit songs
and traveled around the world to play. Some of his hit songs were Concerto for
Cootie, Cotton Tail, Ko-Ko, It Don't Mean a Thing if It Ain't Got That Swing,
Sophisticated Lady, Prelude to a Kiss, Solitude, and Satin Doll. The main
reason that he became a famous artist was because he showed drama while he
played. Ellington made over 1000 compositions of music which stretched into
various other genres, including blues, gospel, film scores, popular, and
classical. Duke only had 1 child, a boy whose name was Mercer. In 1973
Ellington made an autobiography called music is my mistress. Duke earned 12
Grammy awards from 1959 to 2000, 9 while he was alive. On May 24, 1974, at the
age of 75 he died of lung cancer and pneumonia. His last words were,
"Music is how I live, why I live and how I will be remembered." His
reputation increased after his death and the Pulitzer Prize Board bestowed on
him a special posthumous honor in 1999. Duke led his band from 1923 until his
death in 1974. His son Mercer Ellington, who had already been handling all
administrative aspects of his father's business for several decades, led the
band until his own death in 1996. This band is one of the few jazz bands that
still exist.
Duke Ellington once said “you got to find a way
to say it, without saying it” to me that meant you have to prove it, or put
your money where your mouth is. In the end Duke Ellington was a huge figure in
jazz that followed is dream and made it big. Music was Ellington’s passion, his
love, his life. He made 100s of records, he was a jazz legend!
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