Duke Ellington

April 29, 2009

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Profile America — Wednesday, April 29th. One of the giants of American music was born on this day in 1899 in Washington, D.C. — Edward Kennedy Ellington, known to the world as “Duke.” Using his orchestra as an instrument, he wrote a stunning array of compositions for records, films, operas, ballets, Broadway shows and even religious music. Among his hundreds of compositions were “Take The ‘A’ Train,” and “I Got It Bad and That Ain’t Good.” When Ellington gained national attention in the late 1920s, Americans spent just over a billion dollars a year on records, radio and musical instruments. Today, we spend about $10.4 billion on recordings alone. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.

Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2009, p. 239
Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970, p. 319
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009, t. 1102
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2009edition.html