RIP Billy Strayhorn - 44th Anniversary of His Death

[CaramelSmoothie]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tjc7mu9leYw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPBeTUnw5c4&feature=related

Gone, but not forgotten.

 

[tonyb]

Such a drag that he died young (relatively young, anyway), but we were lucky to have him as long as we did, eh?

 

[CaramelSmoothie]

Absolutely Tony. The Duke is from my hometown and I have always loved Strayhorn, just imagine how many more songs he could have given to the world had he lived a little bit longer.

 

[Chas]

A friend of mine here in Vancouver (Eve Smith- sang with Ellington in the '50s as Yvonne Lanauze) was good friends with Swee'pea. One time, as the story goes, while she was living in NYC, her phone rang at 2am.

On the other end of the phone was a voice, singing softly and sweetly "love you....madly..."

"Billy? Is that you?" she says..
"Yes, it's me...I need you to come get me....I fell asleep and missed my stop."
"Where are you?", Eve says.
"Philadelphia.", Billy says. He'd been out drinking, got on the wrong train and Eve and her husband got into the car and drove to Philly to pick up Billy.

True story.

 

[CaramelSmoothie]

Chas that's a great story!