Duke Ellington directing his orchestra at the Hurricane Club, 1943. Photo: Gordon Parks.
In 2006, the Atlantic magazine compiled a list of the 100 most influential Americans of all time. Two musicians made the list: Louis Armstrong and Elvis Presley. At least they got one right! (Kidding, of course.)
The two were selected from a short list prepared by drama and music critic Terry Teachout: Louis Armstrong, George Gershwin, Aaron Copland, Elvis Presley, and Bob Dylan. Teachout had this to say about his second pick:
The two were selected from a short list prepared by drama and music critic Terry Teachout: Louis Armstrong, George Gershwin, Aaron Copland, Elvis Presley, and Bob Dylan. Teachout had this to say about his second pick:
Of all inspired artists who created what is now called the Great American Songbook, it was Gershwin who did the most to infuse it with quintessentially American sounds of ragtime and jazz . . . At the same time, he produced a series of pop-flavored concert works, starting with Rhapsody In Blue, in which he pioneered the crossover genre, and in Porgy and Bess, he tore down the wall that had separated opera from musical comedy.
So, here we have the author of Duke: A Life of Duke Ellington picking George Gershwin and Aaron Copland over Ellington.
Hmmm.
See my review of Teachout’s book in next month’s post.
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