Photo: William P. Gottlieb / Adam Cuerden / Public domain (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Billy Strayhorn is, to me, one of the great quiet geniuses of American music. For nearly three decades he wrote and arranged alongside Duke Ellington, and while Ellington got the marquee, Strayhorn gave us Take the 'A' Train, Chelsea Bridge, and the heartbreakingly sophisticated Lush Life, which he reportedly began composing as a teenager. That last song still floors me; few writers have captured world-weary longing with such elegance. He worked largely in the shadow of a more famous collaborator, yet his fingerprints are all over the sound we call Ellington. The 1968 Grammy Trustees Award barely begins to acknowledge what he gave to jazz.
Overview
William Thomas Strayhorn (November 29, 1915 – May 31, 1967) was an American jazz composer, pianist, lyricist, and arranger who collaborated with bandleader and composer Duke Ellington for nearly three decades. His compositions include "Take the 'A' Train", "Chelsea Bridge", "A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing", and "Lush Life".
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Billy Strayhorn
- Name (Japanese)
- ビリー・ストレイホーン
- Reading
- びりー・すとれいほーん
- Born
- November 29, 1915 – May 31, 1967
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Sagittarius / Rabbit
- Origin
- Dayton, Ohio, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- pianist / composer / jazz musician / songwriter / music arranger
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Westinghouse High School
- University
- Private
Awards & achievements
- 1968 Grammy Trustees Award
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Pianist — see all → · Composer — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.