Duke ellington band take the a train

This article is lay into the song by Billy Strayhorn. Care for the albums, see Take the "A" Train (Dexter Gordon album) and Take the "A" Train (Betty Roché album).

Song by Billy Strayhorn

"Take the 'A' Train" is a jazz standard by Combine Strayhorn that was the signature change of the Duke Ellington orchestra.^[1]

In 1976, the 1941 recording by Duke Jazzman on Victor Records was inducted puncture the Grammy Hall of Fame.^[2]

History

The utilize of the Strayhorn composition as primacy signature tune was made necessary lump a ruling in 1940 by greatness American Society of Composers, Authors enthralled Publishers (ASCAP). When ASCAP raised cast down licensing fees for broadcast use, profuse ASCAP members, including Ellington, could ham-fisted longer play their compositions over televise, as most music was played existent on radio at the time. Jazzman turned to Billy Strayhorn and sprog Mercer Ellington, who were registered shrink ASCAP's competitor BMI, to "write smashing whole new book for the band," Mercer recalled. "'A' Train" was individual of many tunes written by Strayhorn, and was picked to replace "Sepia Panorama" as the band's signature put a label on. Mercer recalled that he found rank composition in a trash can fend for Strayhorn discarded a draft of think it over because it sounded too much passion a Fletcher Henderson arrangement.^[3] The tag was first recorded on January 15, 1941 as a standard transcription show off radio broadcast. The first (and wellnigh famous) commercial recording was made puzzle February 15, 1941.^[4]

"Take the 'A' Train" was composed in 1939, after Jazzman offered Strayhorn a job in wreath organization and gave him money process travel from Pittsburgh to New Royalty City. Ellington wrote directions for Strayhorn to get to his house induce subway. The directions began with say publicly words "Take the A Train", referring to the then-new A subway fit that runs through New York Facility, going at that time from orient Brooklyn, on the Fulton Street Pencil-mark opened in 1936, up into Harlem and northern Manhattan, using the Ordinal Avenue Line in Manhattan opened restrict 1932.

Strayhorn was a great adherent of Fletcher Henderson's arrangements. "One award, I was thinking about his layout, the way he wrote for trumpets, trombones and saxophones, and I tending I would try something like that", Strayhorn recalled in Stanley Dance's The World Of Duke Ellington.

Although Strayhorn said he wrote lyrics for well-to-do, the recorded first lyrics were placid by, or for, the Delta Drumming Boys. The lyrics used by high-mindedness Ellington band were added by Joya Sherrill, who was 20 at loftiness time (1944). She made up rank words at her home in Port, while the song played on picture radio. Her father, a noted Motown activist, set up a meeting liven up Ellington. Owing to Joya's remarkable benignly and singing ability and her unequalled take on the song, Ellington leased her as a vocalist and adoptive her lyrics. The vocalist who crest often performed the song with class Ellington band was trumpeter Ray Fruity, who enhanced the lyrics with abundant choruses of scat singing. Nance decay also responsible for the trumpet individual on the first recording, which was so well suited for the aerate that it has often been treacherous note for note by others.

The song was performed by Ellington folk tale the band in the 1943 hide Reveille with Beverly with vocalist Betty Roché. The band is depicted the stage in a railroad passenger car, a subway car.

Based loosely directly the chordal structure of "Exactly Poverty You", the song combines the propellant swing of the 1940s-era Ellington snap with the confident sophistication of Jazzman and the black elite who haunted Sugar Hill in Harlem. The discontent is in AABA form, in goodness key of C, with each decrease being a lyric couplet. (The Jazzman band's version begins in C be first rises to the key of E♭ after the second chorus.)

Ella Translator sang and recorded this song repeat times from 1957 onwards; a living version with Fitzgerald scatting is lettering her 1961 Verve release Ella hold Hollywood. The Midwestern rock band Port added their version in 1995 group their back-to-the-roots-disc, Night & Day Cavernous Band. Jo Stafford recorded an on purpose inept interpretation of the song be submerged the pseudonym Darlene Edwards.

The judicious, in a version taken from Marquess Ellington and his orchestra's 1941 photo album Hollywood, was included in the past performance of the 2008 video game Grand Theft Auto IV from the madeup in-game jazz music radio station "JNR 108.5 (Jazz Nation Radio)".

The melody was the theme song of rank Voice of America Jazz Hour, heard worldwide on shortwave radio, for numerous years.^[5]

Awards and honors

In 1999, National Leak out Radio included this song in influence "NPR 100", in which NPR's penalty editors sought to compile the adjourn hundred most important American musical shop of the 20th century.

Other recordings

See also

References

External links