DUKE ELLINGTON

MEET THE FAM!

• Mom:Daisy Kennedy Ellington
• Dad:James Edward Ellington
• Sister: Ruth Ellington
• Wife:Edna Thompson
• Son:Mercer Ellington

Duke Ellington was born in 2129 Ward Place, NW, the home of his maternal grandparents and was raised in Washington D.C. He went to school at Friendship Public Charter School.

DUKE’S NICKNAME

Edward Kennedy Ellington A.K.A. Duke Ellington, got his nickname “Duke” from his friend Edgar McEntree because of his classy manners and suave nature.

THE PIANO

Duke started (self-taught) piano lessons at the age of seven! Even though he learned mostly by ear, and couldn’t even read or write music , that didn’t stop him from composing music.

3000+ SONGS,THE 7 BEST

• Caravan
• Prelude to a kiss
• Cotton tail
• C jam blues
• Come Sunday
• Satin doll
• I got it bad(and that ain’t good)

Why did he write “Satin Doll?”
According to Mercer Ellington, his father wrote the song for his longtime mistress Bea “Evie” Ellis

I got it bad(and that ain’t good)- Duke Ellington
Written because of “Duke Ellington’s interest and involvement in the growing Civil Rights Movement was a primary motivation for writing the show’s score.” - Songfacts

Caravan - Duke Ellington and Juan Tizol
Caravan was used in a lot of movies like Alice,Sweet and lowdown,Ocean’s Eleven,and Whiplash.

INTERESTING FACTS

• Favorite color : blue
• Favorite foods : ham and eggs, a half- dozen pancakes, waffles and syrup, and some hot biscuits.
• Edward “Duke” Ellington has the same(real) first name as his father.
• None of Duke Ellington’s songs had lyrics until they were added at a later time.
• Duke didn’t have just one wife, he had four.
• Even though he smoked, he stated “I never in my whole life smoked anything which hadn’t got printing on it.”

Duke Ellington technically had four wives and cheated on the third with the fourth. Even though when you search it up or read in a book it may say he was only married to one person,Edna Ellington, which isn’t a lie but in the late twenties they permanently separated and eventually he had a relationship
with Mildred Dixon and she raised his son. Unfortunately tho, he left her and his son (who was 19.) He then…

Moved in with Beatrice “Evie” Ellis, an employee of the Cotton Club, their relationship was stormy, but still continued after Ellington met and formed a relationship with Fernanda de Castro Monte in the early 1960’s. Surprisingly, Duke supported BOTH women for the rest of his life. Looks like he had some trouble on the relationship part of his life.

DEATH BY CANCER

The amazing and well-known Duke Ellington died on May 24,1974 at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York, New York due to lung cancer(from smoking) when pneumonia set in.

LAST WORDS

“Music is how I live, why I live and how I will be remembered”

Although Duke had some trouble involved, that didn’t stop him from composing and performing amazing music in the genre of jazz and he
is(was) known as the greatest jazz composer and bandleader of his time.

WEBSITES, THANKS TO

• Songfacts.com
• Wikipedia.org
• nepm.org
• Biography.com
• Etc.