Duke Ellington
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Edward "Duke" Ellington was born in Washington D.C, in 1899. He grew up in a loving family. He was always close to his mother and father. His father taught him manners, grammar, and a stylish way of talking. His father was also an experienced butler who had worked at the White House when Teddy Roosevelt was president. While he was growing up, he didn't have much involvement with music when he was young. He preferred to play baseball, until he was hit in the head with a baseball bat. Then his mother made him play the piano. He still didn't like it though.
Duke became interested in music when he was a teenager. He was able to listen to the new hot piano player Harvey Brooks. Him and Harvey were about the same age, so Duke figured he should give it a shot. He learned to play the piano on his own. He started writing as many songs as he could. This is when he made up his nickname, Duke. His friends told him he would need one if he wanted to be popular.
In 1917, Duke and some of his friends formed a band, the Washingtonians. They played at parties, clubs, and dances in Washington. He and the Washingtonians moved to New York. They played in Harlem quite often, as this city was not racist at the time, the majority of the population was even African-American. In 1927 the Washingtonians changed their name to the Duke Ellington Orchestra.
By 1940 they were on of the most popular bands in the Usa. They were on the radio, television, and more. As they were treated badly in hotels and such, they traveled in their own private train. His music was popular up until the 1950's, then rock music came out. His best music was behind him, but he didn't give up. He was invited to play at the Newport jazz festival. People in the audience started leaving when he came on. Duke knew he had to get the audience's attention, so he let his saxophonist do his best work. People went insane, it was one of the last instances of really popular jazz music.
Duke Ellington died in 1974. He was one of the first composers to show that jazz could be better than dance music. Today you can listen to Duke Ellington's music on CD's, tapes, or the internet. He's still somewhat popular today.
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