Take the "A" Train Take the "A" Train "Take the 'A' Train" is a jazz standard by Billy Strayhorn that was the signature tune of the Duke Ellington orchestra. The use of the Strayhorn composition as the signature tune was made necessary by a ruling in 1940 by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). When ASCAP raised its licensing fees for broadcast use, many ASCAP members, including Ellington, could no longer play their compositions over radio, as most music was played live on radio at the time. Ellington turned to Billy Strayhorn and son Mercer Ellington, who were registered with ASCAP
Duke Ellington his list of 100 Greatest African Americans. His compositions have been revisited by artists and musicians around the world both as a source of inspiration and a bedrock of their own performing careers. There are hundreds of albums dedicated to the music of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn by artists famous and obscure. "Sophisticated Ladies", an award-winning 1981 musical revue, incorporated many tunes from Ellington's repertoire. A second Broadway musical interpolating Ellington's music, "Play On!", debuted in 1997. Ellington earned 14 Grammy awards from 1959 to 2000, three of which were posthumous and a total of 24 nominations Recordings of