Take the "A" Train recorded an intentionally inept interpretation of the song under the pseudonym Darlene Edwards. In 1999, National Public Radio included this song in the "NPR 100", in which NPR's music editors sought to compile the one hundred most important American musical works of the 20th century. 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
Best Wishes (Duke Ellington song) Best Wishes (Duke Ellington song) "Best Wishes" is a 1932 Duke Ellington song, one of his own tunes, with words by Ted Koehler. The tune was first recorded 17 May 1932. However, in 1933 on a visit to England, Ellington claimed that "Since I have been in England I have composed a new number entitled Best Wishes, which was played and broadcast on June 14 (1933) for the first time." Ellington also stated that he had dedicated the song "the title not the lyrics", to Britain, that the tune would give British listeners "a better insight into the Negro mind".