Question 1

True or false: Duke Ellington was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Richard Nixon in 1969.

Accepted Answer

True. Ellington received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969 from President Nixon. It was one of many honors for his contributions to American music.

Question 2

True or false: Ellington's real first name was Edward, and 'Duke' was a childhood nickname given by a friend.

Accepted Answer

True. Born Edward Kennedy Ellington, he got the nickname 'Duke' as a child because of his elegant, aristocratic manner. It stuck for life.

Question 3

True or false: Duke Ellington never performed outside the United States during his entire career.

Accepted Answer

False. Ellington toured extensively worldwide, including Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. His 1963 tour of the Middle East was sponsored by the U.S. State Department.

Question 4

True or false: Ellington composed over 1,000 pieces, including many extended suites and film scores.

Accepted Answer

True. Ellington's catalog includes more than 1,000 compositions, from short songs to suites like 'Black, Brown and Beige' and film scores for 'Anatomy of a Murder.'

Question 5

True or false: Duke Ellington was actually a classically trained pianist who graduated from a music conservatory.

Accepted Answer

False. Ellington was mostly self-taught; he never attended a music conservatory. His early lessons came from listening to ragtime pianists and studying on his own.

Question 6

True or false: Ellington wrote only one piece that became a standard, 'Take the 'A' Train,' which was actually composed by Billy Strayhorn.

Accepted Answer

True. Billy Strayhorn wrote 'Take the 'A' Train' for Ellington's band. It became their signature tune, but Ellington himself wrote hundreds of other compositions.

Question 7

True or false: Duke Ellington's band was the first jazz group to play at Carnegie Hall in 1943.

Accepted Answer

False. Ellington's band played at Carnegie Hall in 1943, but other jazz groups, like Paul Whiteman's, had performed there earlier. The Benny Goodman band also preceded him.

Question 8

True or false: Ellington was a professional baseball player before turning to music full-time.

Accepted Answer

False. There is no evidence Ellington played professional baseball. He briefly considered art school but focused on music in his teens, playing in Washington, D.C. clubs.

Duke Ellington Trivia Questions