In 1914, Ellington wrote his first song. He had a job in a café, serving soda, using a soda fountain. His song was called "Soda Fountain Rag". He could not read or write music yet. Ellington missed a lot of piano lessons and did not think he was very good at it. When he was 14 he heard pianists playing in a poolroom. He was inspired to try harder with his piano playing.