Billy Strayhorn (1915-1967) was a composer, arranger, lyricist, and pianist whose three-decade collaboration with Duke Ellington produced some of jazz's most enduring works. Born in Dayton, Ohio, Strayhorn began composing as a teenager, writing "Lush Life" before he was twenty. He joined Ellington's organization in 1939 and remained until his death in 1967, contributing arrangements, compositions, and piano to the orchestra while maintaining an artistic partnership so close that their individual contributions often became indistinguishable. Strayhorn composed approximately 150 songs during his career, including "Take the 'A' Train," which became the Ellington Orchestra's signature theme after Strayhorn reportedly wrote it on a New York subway. His other well-known compositions include "Chelsea Bridge," "Day Dream," "My Little Brown Book," "Satin Doll," "Isfahan," and "A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing." He contributed to extended works such as Such Sweet Thunder and The Far East Suite, and collaborated on the soundtrack for Otto Preminger's Anatomy of a Murder. His compositional style drew on classical training, featuring harmonic sophistication, impressionistic voicings, and lyrical melody writing that set his work apart within the Ellington canon. Despite his substantial contributions to American music, Strayhorn's reserved personality kept him largely out of the public eye during his lifetime, and recognition of his independent legacy has grown considerably in the decades since his death.
