7 The 100 Most Influential Musicians of All Time 7This 1958 photo catches the legendary big band leader and jazz pianist, Duke
Ellington, adjusting his bow tie, probably before a show. Getty Images/
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“Rocks in My Bed,” and “Satin Doll.” In other songs, such
as “Don’t Get Around Much Any More,” “Prelude to a
Kiss,” and “I Let a Song Go out of My Heart,” he made
wide interval leaps an Ellington trademark. A number of
these hits were introduced by Ivy Anderson, who was the
band’s female vocalist in the 1930s.
During these years Ellington became intrigued with
the possibilities of composing jazz within classical forms.
His musical suite Black, Brown and Beige (1943), a portrayal
of African American history, was the fi rst in a series of
suites he composed, usually consisting of pieces linked by
subject matter. It was followed by, among others, Liberian
Suite (1947); A Drum Is a Woman (1956), created for a