Count Strayhorn

PBS: Today, historians and scholars agree that Billy Strayhorn remains one of the most under-recognized American composers in history

All About Jazz : Within days of arriving in New York, after staying unhappily at a Harlem YMCA, paid for by Ellington, Strayhorn had moved into Duke’s palatial Harlem penthouse along with Duke’s sister Ruth, his son Mercer, and Duke’s girlfriend.

Some Came Running : An excellent place to start is the tribute record Ellington and his orchestra made shortly after Strayhorn’s death—in 1967, at age 52, of cancer of the esophagus—…And His Mother Called Him Bill.

Answers.com : There are several instances where Strayhorn compositions were registered as Ellington/Strayhorn pieces (“Day Dream,” “Something to Live For”), where collaborations between the two were listed only under Duke’s name (“Satin Doll,” “Sugar Hill Penthouse,” “C-Jam Blues”), where Strayhorn pieces were copyrighted under Ellington’s name or no name at all.My Bling

Rifftides : The Gay Mens Chorus of Los Angeles paid tribute to Strayhorn last year near the fortieth anniversary of his death on May 31, 1967. Video of that ninety-minute production is now streaming in full on the internet.

jazzsight : Most of the time, Billy would be oblivious to the passing scenery, engrossed in a book and a gin cocktail below the window level of the seat.

National Endowment for the Humanities : Strayhorn was introduced to the pianist Aaron Bridges and the two soon began a romantic relationship. Bridges and Strayhorn found an apartment together on Convent Avenue in Harlem and remained partners for nearly a decade.

glbtq.com : Only one solo album of his own was released during his lifetime, and until the mid-1990s, not a single biography had been written about him.