Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was born on April 29, 1899 and raised in Washington D.C. by his two talented musical parents James Edward Ellington and Daisy Kennedy Ellington. He started studying piano at the age of 7 and ended up producing thousands of scores over his career. One of Dukes most popular songs is "Take the A Train", produced in 1939. After about 50 years, the pianist, composer and songwriter died on May 24, 1974 in New York City, NY from pneumonia and lung cancer. He was 74.