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
Black Beauty (1928 song) Black Beauty (1928 song) Black Beauty is a 1928 jazz composition by Duke Ellington. According to Ellington scholar A.H. Lawrence, the composition started out as a solo piano piece titled "Firewater" that Ellington played at the Cotton Club at the end of intermissions, as his band members returned to the stage. After he orchestrated and recorded the tune, he decided the title did not suit the work. He renamed the piece "Black Beauty" and dedicated it to singer, dancer, and comedian Florence Mills, who had died the previous year. It became one of Ellington's signature songs. Ellington first recorded it