DUKE ELLINGTON

CHILDHOOD

• He was born in Washington D.C.
• He began studying piano at age seven.
• He started playing professionally at age 17.
• He wrote his first composition “Soda Fountain Rag” at 15.
• He worked as a soda jerk.
• A soda jerk is a person who operated the soda machine and would get people soda and ice cream.

ADULTHOOD

• Duke worked as a sign painter.
• He played at the Cotton Club
• He moved to New York in 1923

TAKE A TRAIN

GOIN TO TOWN

IT DON’T MEAN A THING

• It was composed in 1931.
• It was recorded on February 2nd 1932
• The lyrics were sung by Irving Mills.

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT DUKE ELLINGTON

• His other nickname was Dumpy
• His father was a part time butler for Warren. G. Harding the president
• He died of pneumonia

CHILDREN

• Mercer Ellington
• He lead his fathers band 20 years after his death

SPOUSE

• Edna Thompson
• Married 1918-1967
• She died in 1967

AWARDS

• He won 14 Grammies
• He had a presidential medal of freedom
• He won one Oscar for his song Paris Blues

LEGACY

• In 2009 he was on the Washington D.C quarter.
• A street named West 106th Street was renamed Duke Ellington Boulevard

WEBSITES USED

• IMDB.COM
• Biography.com
• Britannica.com
• Wikipedia.com