Billy Strayhorn - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Near the southeastern corner at the intersection of  Churton Street and Margaret Lane, Hillsborough, NC

Billy Strayhorn! The cool this about this blog is that I discover things I never knew, even about the area I grew up in for years. This post is definitely one of those. It was enjoyable to write, because I got to listen to good jazz music while doing it😀

Billy Strayhorn (Source)

Billy Strayhorn was born in Dayton, Ohio, on November 29, 1915, and he and his family moved to Pittsburgh shortly thereafter. So why did I find a sign on him here in Hillsborough, North Carolina, and not in Dayton, Ohio? Granted, I don't know whether a sign on him exists at all in Dayton, but I believe if I searched for one, I would find one. But we do know that his mother would send him to Hillsborough for extended visits with his grandmother here, as a way to protect him from his abusive father. It was while he would be with his grandmother, who encouraged him to play on the keyboard (herself an organist). His mother would nurture the interest by purchasing sheet music and books for him. When he returned home to Pittsburgh, he would practice with Charlotte Catlin, whom he met at Volkwein's Music Store (which is still in business!). He continued to study the piano and classical music throughout his high school years and at the Pittsburgh Music Institute until 1937, with dreams of becoming a professional classical pianist. He and others at his high school performed a Cole Porter-style skit called "Fantastic Rhythm" that was so successful, two businessmen financed the production to have it tour throughout western Pennsylvania.

Strayhorn had listened to Duke Ellington and his orchestra over the radio and live in Pittsburgh. But personal connections landed him a personal meeting backstage with Ellington at the Stanley Theater when his orchestra came to perform in Pittsburgh in 1938. Strayhorn performed some of Ellington's music for him as an impromptu audition, and Ellington tasked him with writing lyrics for some music. This ended up being Strayhorn's arrangement of Two Sleepy People, which Ellington and his orchestra played on their last night at the Stanley.

The Stanley Theater, where Ellington met Strayhorn.
Now known as the Benedum Center for the Performing Arts (Source)

Ellington invited Strayhorn to his Harlem apartment, right before he and his band left for their 1939 European tour. It is said that the directions Ellington gave to Strayhorn to find his apartment provided the starting lyrics for the now famous song "Take the A Train". While Strayhorn stayed at Harlem, he studied Ellington's scores and created arrangements for the orchestra. He continued doing so for years, composing songs such as "Chelsea Bridge", "Day Dream", "Johnny Come Lately", and even "Lotus Blossom".

Strayhorn lived openly gay, and had a lover for years, pianist Aaron Bridgers, whom he met while living in Harlem (Bridgers would eventually move to Paris in 1947). Ellington's publicist, Joe Morgen, was homophobic, and it's suggested that homophobia contributed to many collaborations and arrangements Strayhorn had a part in going uncredited to him in the end. Despite that, Strayhorn had a successful career composing and arranging American jazz music. Due to a highly publicized dispute between Ellington and the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), Ellington was banned from broadcasting his performances and music on the radio (members are prohibited from airing their own songs over the radio). Strayhorn, who was not a member of ASCAP unlike Ellington, could have his work broadcast over the radio, which is how "Take the A Train" became so popular and well-known. During this time, Strayhorn worked tirelessly to provide new works for the orchestra that kept them afloat for months.

Strayhorn with Lena Horne (Source)

In the 1950s, he took on work independent of Ellington and his orchestra. This included writing an LP for Rosemary Clooney (aunt to gorgeous George Clooney, as well as one of four leading actors in White Christmas) and two LPs for Bethlehem Records. He even became a strong influence and mentor for Lena Horne; the two were close and described themselves as "soulmates". During this time, he still collaborated occasionally with Ellington and his orchestra. Strayhorn was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in 1964, which caused his death at age 51 in 1967.

Here's an NPR bit on Strayhorn and his music. You should give it a listen, it's wonderful and enjoyable (an old website Google managed to dig up here lists discography credited to Strayhorn).