Take the A Train

• Date: 1941
• Composer: Billy Strayhorn
• Period: Modern (1910-1949)

Review

Duke Ellington first heard the young pianist Billy Strayhorn when his band passed through Pittsburgh in 1938. The bandleader promised to stay in touch, but neither called nor wrote. Finally, Strayhorn called Ellington's office and was told the band was playing in Harlem. The directions to the club were very specific: "Take the A train to Sugar Hill." In 1939, Strayhorn made the trip from Pittsburgh to New York and took the A train up to Harlem. Ellington was impressed both by the young man's initiative and his musicality, and put him on the payroll. At the end of 1940, the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) called for the radio networks to increase their royalties. The networks refused and ASCAP called a strike, forbidding any ASCAP compositions to be played on the radio. Overnight, the Ellington band, along with every other band in the country, was unable to play any of its hits on the radio. Strayhorn and Ellington's son Mercer spent a couple days holed up in a hotel in Chicago and wrote an entirely new set of songs for Ellington. Among these were "Take the 'A' Train," with its very specific directions to Harlem set to an instantly memorable melody, and arranged for the Ellington band's suave blend of trumpets and reeds. Ellington was so impressed by Strayhorn's song that he made it his band's theme song. ~ All Music Guide

Albums with Complete Performances of the Work

Title	Date
American Music [Box Set]	2008
Americana	2000
Americana	2004
Big Band Parade
Colonel-In-Chief	1990
Continental Encores	2008
Ghost of a Chance	2009
It's Showtime!	2008
Night Creature: The Symphonic Ellington	1999
Opening Night	1993
Pavarotti in Central Park [DVD Video]	1993
Pavarotti: The Three Concerts [DVD Video] [Box Set]	2007
Pops Stoppers	1995
Prague Transformations	2004
Shazam!
Swing Time!
Take the A Train	2007
That's a Plenty!	2002
The London Viola Sound	1995
The Mantovani Orchestra [Box Set]	1998
The Norton Scores & The Enjoyment of Music, Vol. 2: Schubert to the Present	2007
Train Songs	2002
Tribute to Duke Ellington
Tribute to Ellington	1999
Voices of New York, An Odyssey, Vol. 1: Rising	2002
We Love New York: The Ultimate New York Keepsake	2002