Q 01/05

What was Duke Ellington's real first name?

A) Edgar

B) Edward

C) Elmer

D) Ellis

Answer · why

B) Edward

His full name was Edward Kennedy Ellington; the Kennedy came from his mother Daisy's maiden name.

Q 02/05

In which city was Duke Ellington born and raised?

A) Washington, D.C.

B) New York City

C) Philadelphia, PA

D) Baltimore, Maryland

Answer · why

A) Washington, D.C.

He moved to New York in the mid-1920s and became part of the Harlem Renaissance.

Q 03/05

Which instrument did Duke Ellington play?

A) Trumpet

B) Clarinet

C) Piano

D) Double bass

Answer · why

C) Piano

Both his parents were pianists too: his mother played parlour songs and his father preferred operatic arias.

Q 04/05

How did Ellington get the nickname "Duke"?

A) A bandleader billed him that way to sell tickets

B) Childhood friends thought his manner and dress were aristocratic

C) He claimed descent from minor English nobility

D) A newspaper critic coined it after a concert

Answer · why

B) Childhood friends thought his manner and dress were aristocratic

Ellington credited his friend Edgar McEntee, who felt he needed a title to be eligible for his constant companionship.

Q 05/05

As a boy, what was Duke Ellington more interested in than his piano lessons?

A) Baseball

B) Boxing

C) Painting

D) Chess

Answer · why

A) Baseball

He recalled President Theodore Roosevelt stopping on his horse to watch the boys play, and his first job was selling peanuts at Washington Senators ga...