by David Hajdu
———. Duke Ellington on Compact Disc. Hicksville, New York: Marlor Productions, 1993.
Van de Leur, Walter. “Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn: Their Collaboration for the ‘Blanton-Webster Band,’ 1939–1941.” Master’s thesis, Department of Musicology, University of Amsterdam, 1993.
Welles, Orson, and Peter Bogdanovich. This Is Orson Welles. New York: Harper-Collins, 1992.
Williams, Martin. The Jazz Tradition. 2nd rev. ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1983.
DISCOGRAPHY
The following is a list of Billy Strayhorn’s compositions and collaborations issued on records and CDs. The credits listed for composers and lyricists reflect copyright registrations as filed by Tempo Music and other publishers, and they may differ from the authorship history described in this book; the dates cited represent the earliest listing with the Library of Congress or ASCAP. (Title spellings used here correspond with copyright registrations and sometimes differ from popular usage. No dates are listed for songs not copyrighted or registered with ASCAP.) The recordings noted are exemplary performances; where possible, Strayhorn’s own performances have been chosen. All are available on CD except where noted. Music not recorded, arrangements by Strayhorn of other composers’ work, adaptations of his music by others, and lyrics added to Strayhorn’s music after his death are not included.
SONGS
“Absinthe” (1963) Registered composer: Strayhorn. Recommended recording: Afro-Bossa (Discovery), Duke Ellington and His Orchestra. Strayhorn’s original title was “Lament for an Orchid.” The piece was alternately entitled “Fluid Jive” and “Water Lily” in its early performances; a later working title was “Ricard,” after a French brand of absinthe.
“After All” (1942) Registered composer: Strayhorn. Recommended recording: The Blanton-Webster Band (RCA), Duke Ellington and His Orchestra.
“Allah-Bye” (1957) Registered composer: Strayhorn. Recommended recording: Duke ’56–’62, Volume I (CBS 2-LP set), Duke Ellington and His Orchestra.
“All Day Long” (1951) Registered composer: Strayhorn. Recommended recording: … And His Mother Called Him Bill (RCA), Duke Ellington and His Orchestra.
“All Heart” See Suites: Portrait of Ella Fitzgerald.
“Baby Clementine” See “Clementine.”
“Bagatelle” (1995) Registered composer: Strayhorn. Recommended recording: Portrait of a Silk Thread: Newly Discovered Works of Billy Strayhorn (Dutch Jazz), The Dutch Jazz Orchestra. This vintage Strayhorn piece was copyrighted and recorded under the stewardship of the composer’s estate.
“Ballad for Very Tired and Very Sad Lotus Eaters” (1957) Registered composer: Strayhorn. Recommended recording: Duke’s in Bed (Verve LP), Johnny Hodges. Released as “Ballade for Very Tired and Very Sad Lotus Eaters.”
“Barefoot Stomper” (1965) Registered composers and lyricists: Ellington–Strayhorn. Recommended recording: Concert in the Virgin Islands (Reprise), Duke Ellington and His Orchestra.
“Barney Goin’ Easy” See “I’m Checkin’ Out, Goom Bye.”
“BDB” (1962) Registered composers: Ellington–Strayhorn. Recommended recording: First Time! The Count Meets the Duke (Columbia), the Duke Ellington and Count Basie orchestras performing together.
“Big Fat Alice’s Blues” (1965) Registered composers and lyricists: Ellington–Strayhorn. Recommended recording: Concert in the Virgin Islands (Reprise), Duke Ellington and His Orchestra.
“Blood Count” (1967) Registered composer: Strayhorn. Recommended recording: … And His Mother Called Him Bill (RCA), Duke Ellington and his Orchestra. The piece was originally titled “Blue Cloud,” although it is entirely different from the “Blue Cloud” incorporated into Suite for the Duo.
“Blossom” (1954) Registered composers: Ellington–Strayhorn. Lyricist: Johnny Mercer. Recommended recording: The Complete Capitol Recordings of Duke Ellington (Mosaic), Duke Ellington and His Orchestra.
“Blues in Orbit” (1958) Registered composers: Ellington–Strayhorn. Recommended recording: Blues in Orbit (Columbia), Duke Ellington and His Orchestra.
“Blue Star” (1995) Registered composer. Strayhorn. Recommended recording: Portrait of a Silk Thread: Newly Discovered Works of Billy Strayhorn (Dutch Jazz), The Dutch Jazz Orchestra. Copyrighted and recorded after Strayhorn’s death, through his estate.
“Boo-Dah” (1953) Registered composer and lyricist: Strayhorn. Recommended recording: Lush Life (Red Baron), Billy Strayhorn. On this CD, the only release of a Strayhorn performance of this composition, it is misidentified as another Strayhorn piece, “Smada.”
“Brown Betty” (1948) Registered composers: Ellington–Strayhorn. Recommended recording: Carnegie Hall, November 13, 1948 (VJC), Duke Ellington and His Orchestra. Although Ellington described the piece as Strayhorn’s work in his comments at Carnegie Hall on November 11, 1948, Tempo Music’s copyright was registered in the names of Ellington and Strayhorn on November 7, 1951.
“Bugle Breaks” (1945) Registered composers: Strayhorn–Duke Ellington–Mercer Ellington. Recommended recording: Take the “A” Train: The Blanton-Webster Transcriptions (VJC), Duke Ellington and His Orchestra. The Ellington Orchestra occasionally performed a concert version of this piece as “Bugle Breaks Extended.”
“Cafe au Lait” (1962) Registered composer: Strayhorn. Recommended recording: Duke ’56–’62, Volume I (CBS 2-LP set), Duke Ellington and His Orchestra.
“Cashmere Cutie” (1957) Registered composer: Strayhorn. Recommended recording: Portrait of a Silk Thread: Newly Discovered Works of Billy Strayhorn (Dutch Jazz), The Dutch Jazz Orchestra.
“Chalmeau” (1946) Registered composers: Strayhorn–Harry Carney. Recommended recording: Music for Loving: Ben Webster with Strings (Verve), Ben Webster. This CD incorporates the LP Harry Carney with Strings, which includes this song.
“Charpoy” (1946) Registered composer: Strayhorn. Recommended recording: … And His Mother Called Him Bill (RCA), Duke Ellington and His Orchestra. Composed in the mid-1940s, the piece was originally entitled “Lana Turner”; on some music for the Ellington Orchestra, the title was inverted as “Anal Renrut.” In its first copyright, the piece was entitled “Francesca.”
“Chelsea Bridge” (1941) Registered composer: Strayhorn. Recommended recording: The Peaceful Side (United Artists LP), Billy Strayhorn.
“Clementine” (1942) Registered composer: Strayhorn. Lyricists: Stanley Clayton–Ruth Roberts–Bill Katz. Recommended recording: The Blanton-Webster Band (RCA), Duke Ellington and His Orchestra. On some later recordings of the vocal version of this song, entitled “Baby Clementine,” the record producer Bob Thiele is credited as a fourth lyricist.
“Cue’s Blue Now” (1960) Registered composers: Strayhorn-Johnny Hodges. Recommended recording: Cue for Saxophone (London), Billy Strayhorn’s Septet.
“Day Dream” (1940) Registered composers: Ellington–Strayhorn. Lyricist: John Latouche. Recommended recording: The Peaceful Side (United Artists LP), Billy Strayhorn.
“Dirge” Registered composer: none. Recommended recording: The Duke Ellington Carnegie Hall Concerts, January 1943 (Prestige), Duke Ellington and His Orchestra. Although Strayhorn is credited as composer on the record and in various accounts of this performance, no copyright registration has been filed for the song.
“Double Ruff” (1946) Registered composer: Strayhorn. Recommended recording: The “Collection”: ’46–’57 Recordings (Hindsight), Duke Ellington and His Orchestra.
“Drawing Room Blues” (1947) Registered composer: Strayhorn. Recommended recording: Duke Ellington at the Blue Note, 1959 (Roulette), Duke Ellington and His Orchestra. This CD is a live recording featuring Strayhorn in a solo piano performance.
“E and D Blues” (1958) Registered composers: Ellington–John Sanders. Recommended recording: Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Songbook (Verve), Ella Fitzgerald with Duke Ellington and His Orchestra. Strayhorn is credited as co-composer (with Ellington and Sanders) on LP and CD releases. In Tempo Mus
ic’s first copyright, registered on September 10, 1958, Ellington is cited as sole composer; in the publisher’s second registration, filed on March 2, 1959, both Ellington and Sanders are cited as the composers.
“Eighth Veil” (1946) Registered composers: Ellington–Strayhorn. Recommended recording: Afro-Bossa (Discovery), Duke Ellington and His Orchestra. Some releases credit Ellington and Strayhorn as co-composers, some cite Strayhorn alone.
“Elysee” (1964) Registered composer: Strayhorn. Recommended recording: Duke Ellington: The Private Collection, Volume Four (SAJA), Duke Ellington and His Orchestra.
“Far-Eastern Weekend” (1957) Registered composers: Strayhorn–Louie Bellson–Seymour Press. Recommended recording: Drummerama (Verve LP), Louie Bellson.
“Feather Roll Blues” Registered composer: none. Recommended recording: 78 rpm single (Sunrise), Billy Strayhorn Orchestra. Although Strayhorn is credited as composer on the record, no copyright registration has been filed for the song.
“Flippant Flurry” (1947) Registered composer: Ellington. Recommended recording: The “Collection”: ’46–’57 Recordings (Hindsight), Duke Ellington and His Orchestra. ASCAP, Tempo Music catalogs, and recordings cite Billy Strayhorn as composer of this piece. In Tempo Music’s copyright, registered on January 14, 1947, Duke Ellington is cited as sole composer.
“A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing” (1941) Registered composer and lyricist: Strayhorn. Recommended recording: The Peaceful Side (United Artists LP), Billy Strayhorn. The title was inspired by the poem “My Garden” by Thomas Edward Brown (1830–97): “A Garden is a lovesome thing, God wot!” Released as “Passion” on Johnny Hodges’s Creamy LP.
“Frou-Frou” (1965) Registered composer: Lil Young. Recommended recording: The Duke’s DJ Special, March 27, 1959 (Fresh Sound), Duke Ellington and His Orchestra. Composed by Strayhorn under his mother’s maiden name. He received the song’s royalties, by contract with the publishing organization SESAC. Also known as “So Easy.”
“Gonna Tan Your Hide” (1957) Registered composers: Ellington–Strayhorn. Recommended recording: The Complete Capitol Recordings of Duke Ellington (Mosaic), Duke Ellington and His Orchestra. On record labels and in the song index to Ellington’s memoirs, Music Is My Mistress, Ellington and Strayhorn are credited as co-composers of this piece. In Tempo Music’s first copyright, registered on March 1, 1957, Strayhorn is cited as sole composer; in the publisher’s second copyright, filed on March 1, 1962, Ellington is named as composer.
“Grievin’” (1939) Registered composers and lyricists: Ellington–Strayhorn. Recommended recording: The Chronological Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, 1939, Volume 2 (Classics), Duke Ellington and His Orchestra.
“Happy-Go-Lucky Local” See Suites: The Deep South Suite.
“Hark for Duke’s Trumpets” (1956) Registered composer: none. Recommended recording: Duke Ellington at the 1957 Stratford Festival (Music and Arts), Duke Ellington and His Orchestra. Ellington and Strayhorn are credited as co-composers on recordings of the piece. This CD, erroneously titled, documents a performance from 1956.
“Hear Say” See Suites: The Deep South Suite.
“The History of Jazz in Three Minutes” Registered composer: none. Recommended recording: Short film of the same title. Concert programs for live performances credited Ellington and Strayhorn as co-composers.
“Hi-Ya” (1957) Registered composer: Johnny Hodges. Recommended recording: Eilingtonia ’56 (Verve LP), Johnny Hodges. Although Strayhorn and Hodges are credited jointly on the recording, Hodges alone is cited in the copyright registration filed on March 11, 1957.
“The Hues” (1995) Registered composer: Strayhorn. Recommended recording: Portrait of a Silk Thread: Newly Discovered Works of Billy Strayhorn (Dutch Jazz), The Dutch Jazz Orchestra. Copyrighted and recorded after Strayhorn’s death, through his estate.
“I Don’t Mind” (1942) Registered composer: Ellington. Lyricist: Strayhorn. Recommended recording: The Blanton-Webster Band (RCA), Duke Ellington and His Orchestra.
“Imagine My Frustration” (1966) Registered composer and lyricist: Ellington. Recommended recording: Ella at Duke’s Place (Verve), Ella Fitzgerald with Duke Ellington and His Orchestra. The music for this song, originally entitled “When I’m Feeling Kinda Blue,” was composed by Gerald Wilson and credited to his wife, Jo Villasenor; Wilson performed the song with his big band and recorded it prior to introducing it to Ellington. On Ellington Orchestra recordings of the retitled lyric version, Wilson is credited jointly with Ellington and Strayhorn. Tempo Music’s copyrights, filed on February 11, 1966 (as “Imagine”), and April 9, 1970 (as “Imagine My Frustration”), cite Ellington as sole author of both words and music.
“I’m Checkin’ Out, Goom Bye” (1939) Registered composers and lyricists: Ellington–Strayhorn. Recommended recording: The Chronological Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, 1939, Volume 2 (Classics), Duke Ellington and His Orchestra. Also recorded as an instrumental entitled “Barney Goin’ Easy.”
“In a Blue Summer Garden” Registered composer: none. Recommended recording: Great Times (Riverside), Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn. Ellington and Strayhorn are credited as co-composers on recordings of the piece.
“The Intimacy of the Blues” (1968) Registered composer: Strayhorn. Recommended recording: … And His Mother Called Him Bill (RCA), Duke Ellington and His Orchestra.
“Isfahan” See Suites: The Far East Suite.
“Jazz Festival Jazz” (1958) Registered composers: Ellington–Dick Vance. Recommended recording: Live from Newport (Columbia), Duke Ellington and His Orchestra. ASCAP, Tempo Music catalogs, and recordings cite Ellington and Strayhorn as co-composers. In Tempo Music’s copyright, filed on November 4, 1958, Duke Ellington and Dick Vance are registered as co-composers.
“Johnny Come Lately” (1942) Registered composer: Strayhorn. Recommended recording: Just Jazz All-Stars (Capitol LP), various artists, including Strayhorn. Also performed by the Ellington Orchestra as “Stomp.”
“Just A-Sittin’ and A-Rockin’” (1941) Registered composers: Ellington–Strayhorn. Lyricist: Lee Gaines. Recommended recording: Lush Life (Red Baron), Billy Strayhorn.
“Kissing Bug” (1945) Registered composers: Strayhorn–Rex Stewart. Lyricist: Joya Sherrill. Recommended recording: Black, Brown and Beige (RCA), Duke Ellington and His Orchestra.
“Lament for Javanette” (1941) Registered composers: Strayhorn–Barney Bigard. Recommended recording: The Great Ellington Units (RCA), various artists. Copyrighted in the names of Strayhorn and Bigard on April 5, 1941, and released on a recording featuring Bigard and a small band, the song is credited to Ellington on its CD release.
“Lonely Co-ed” (1939) Registered composers and lyricists: Ellington–Strayhorn–Edgar Leslie. Recommended recording: Ivie Anderson with the Duke Ellington Orchestra (Jazz Archives), Duke Ellington and His Orchestra.
“Lost in Two Flats” (1940) Registered composer: Strayhorn. Recommended recording: The Chronological Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, 1939–1940 (Classics), Barney Bigard and His Orchestra.
“Lotus Blossom” (1946) Registered composer: Strayhorn. Recommended recording: … And His Mother Called Him Bill (RCA), Duke Ellington and His Orchestra. Originally recorded by Johnny Hodges as “Charlotte Rouse.” In 1946, Tempo Music copyrighted a version with lyrics by Allen Roy titled “All Roads Lead Back to You” and Ellington credited as co-composer.
“Love Came” (1965) Registered composer: Strayhorn. Lyricist: Ellington. Recommended recording: Lush Life (Red Baron), Billy Strayhorn. Strayhorn is cited as composer in the copyright registration filed on August 18, 1965. Ellington is credited as composer on this CD.
“Love Has Passed Me By, Again” Registered composer and lyricist: none. Recommended recording: Lush Life (Red Baron), Billy Strayhorn. On the Strayhorn CD, the song is erroneously listed as “Pass Me By,” a different composition by Mercer Ellington and Hillis Walters (misspelled Waiters).
“Love Like This Can’t Last” (1945) Reg
istered composer and lyricist: Strayhorn. Recommended recording: Take the “A” Train: The Blanton-Webster Transcriptions (VJC), Duke Ellington and His Orchestra.
“Lovelinessence” Registered composer: none. Recommended recording: Ellingtonia (Strand LP), Cat Anderson and the Ellington All-Stars. No copyright registration has been filed for this composition.
“Lush Life” (1949) Registered composer and lyricist: Strayhorn. Recommended recording: Lush Life (Red Baron), Billy Strayhorn. Composed by Strayhorn before he met Ellington, the piece was never performed by the Duke Ellington Orchestra. It is featured on several CDs of “the music of Duke Ellington,” including releases by Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald.
“Malletoba Spank” (1959) Registered composers: Ellington–Strayhorn. Recommended recording: Jazz Party (Columbia), Duke Ellington and His Orchestra. Released as “Spank” in an edited version on 45 rpm record.
“Maybe” (1961) Registered composer and lyricist: Strayhorn. Recommended recording: Lena at the Sands (RCA LP), Lena Horne.
“Metronome All-Out” (1945) Registered composers: Ellington–Strayhorn Recommended recording: The Metronome All-Star Bands (RCA), Metronome All-Stars.
“M.H. & R.” (1962) Registered composers: Strayhorn–Johnny Hodges. Recommended recording: Not So Dukish (Verve LP), Johnny Hodges. Released as “M.H.R.”
“A Midnight in Paris” (1963) Registered composer; Strayhorn. Recommended recording: Midnight in Paris (Columbia), Duke Ellington and His Orchestra.
“Mid-Riff” (1944) Registered composer: Strayhorn. Recommended recording: Black, Brown and Beige (RCA), Duke Ellington and His Orchestra. The piece’s original title was “Raindrop Stomp.”
“Minuet in Blues” (1940) Registered composer: Barney Bigard. Recommended recording: Ellington Sidekicks (Epic/Sony), various groups of Ellingtonians. Originally released as “Minuet in Blue” on a 78 rpm single by Barney Bigard and His Orchestra (Vocation). Although Strayhorn is credited as composer on the recording and the song’s original music manuscript is in his hand, the song was copyrighted in Bigard’s name.