Duke Ellington
Birthday: 29 April 1899, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
Birth Name: Edward Kennedy Ellington
Height: 185 cm
Composer ("It Don't Mean a Thing if It Ain't Got That Swing", "Sophisticated Lady", "Mood Indigo", "Solitude", "In a Mellotone", "Satin ...Show More
To me, bebop is like playing Scrabble with all the vowels missing.
To me, bebop is like playing Scrabble with all the vowels missing.
I'm a telephone freak, the greatest invention since peanut brittle.
I'm a telephone freak, the greatest invention since peanut brittle.
If I'm the Duke, man, Peggy Lee is Queen.
If I'm the Duke, man, Peggy Lee is Queen.
I am a bandleader and I am a composer.
I am a bandleader and I am a composer.
New York is a place where the rich walk, the poor drive Cadillacs, and beggars die of malnutrition w Show more
New York is a place where the rich walk, the poor drive Cadillacs, and beggars die of malnutrition with thousands of dollars hidden in their mattresses. Hide
I like any and all of my associations with music: writing, playing, and listening. We write and play Show more
I like any and all of my associations with music: writing, playing, and listening. We write and play from our perspective, and the audience listens from its perspective. If and when we agree, I am lucky. Hide
[in reply to a question about how he got the scar on his face] I have four stories about it, and it Show more
[in reply to a question about how he got the scar on his face] I have four stories about it, and it depends on which you like the best. One is a taxicab accident; another is that I slipped and fell on a broken bottle; then there is a jealous woman; and last is Old Heidelberg, where they used to stand toe to toe with a saber in each hand, and slash away. The first man to step back lost the contest, no matter how many times he'd sliced the other. Take your pick. Hide
Duke Ellington's FILMOGRAPHY
as Actor (36)
