Duke Ellington was born April 29,1899 in Washington DC. He was a big part of jazz history for about half a century. He composed about a thousand songs for the stage, screen and contemporary songbooks. Duke Ellington was raised in a good family growing up. His parents were very musically talented. He started studying the piano at the age of 7. He wrote his first composition at the age of 15 called "The Soda Fountain Rag." When he was 17 he started composing professionally. He married Enda Thompson at 19 and shortly after she gave birth to their only child. While Duke was getting older, cancer formed in his lungs. He died May 24, 1974 at the age of 74. He died because of the lung cancer and pneumonia. His last words were," Music is how I live, why I live and how I will be remembered."
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