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
Duke Ellington birth site, at the intersection of New Hampshire and M Streets, NW was named the Duke Ellington Park. Ellington's residence at 2728 Sherman Avenue, NW, during the years 1919–1922, is marked by a bronze plaque. On February 24, 2009, the United States Mint issued a coin with Duke Ellington on it, making him the first African American to appear by himself on a circulating U.S. coin. Ellington appears on the reverse (tails) side of the District of Columbia quarter. The coin is part of the U.S. Mint's program honoring the District and the U.S. territories and celebrates Ellington's birthplace in