Duke Ellington (1899-1974)
Born Edward Kennedy Ellington, Ellington began to play the piano at the age of seven. He was raised by two music enriched parents in Washington D.C. Ellington got the nickname Duke for the way he acted as a child. Ellington's first composition was called "Soda Fountain Rag" named after his first job as a soda clerk. He began his professional career at the age of 17. Ellington created one of the most distinctive ensembles in Western Music, which he called "American Music." Ellington died in 1974 of lung cancer and pneumonia; he died at the age of 75. To hear "It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing" click on this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDQpZT3GhDg