When Duke Ellington learned of the death of Billy Strayhorn (known affectionately within the band as "Swee' Pea") fifty years ago today, he did not leave his house for days. Lena Horne was so devoted to him that she declared that she would have married him if he had been straight; when she briefly came out of retirement, Strayhorn compositions featured heavily in her stage show and on the album that resulted. This article gives a measure of the man.
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