The University of Chicago Library > Special Collections Research Center > Finding Aids > Guide to the Billy Strayhorn Master Editions Collection 1933-1966
© 2008 University of Chicago Library
The Billy Strayhorn Master Editions Collection was processed and preserved as part of the “Uncovering New Chicago Archives Project,” funded with support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
| Title: | Strayhorn, Billy, Master Editions. Collection |
|---|---|
| Dates: | 1933-1966 |
| Size: | 10.5 linear feet (7 boxes) |
| Repository: |
Special Collections Research Center |
| Abstract: | The Billy Strayhorn Master Editions Collection contains finale scores and parts generated by music editing software, derived directly from his handwritten manuscripts. There are also reprints of a signed photograph of Strayhorn. |
The collection is open for research.
The collection requires written permission from Billy Strayhorn Songs, Inc. for reproduction of any kind.
When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Strayhorn, Billy, Master Editions. Collection, [Box#, Folder#], Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
William "Billy" Strayhorn was born in Dayton, Ohio on November 29, 1915. He spent part of his childhood in Hillsborough, North Carolina. His family eventually moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he studied classical music at the Pittsburgh Musical Institution.
At the age of 23, he submitted a musical composition titled "Something to Live For" to Duke Ellington, who subsequently recorded it with Strayhorn as the pianist. Strayhorn worked as the pianist in Mercer Ellington's orchestra for a short time, but left to join Ellington's band as associate arranger and second pianist. He stayed with Ellington for nearly thirty years and they collaborated on more than 200 items, including "Take the 'A' Train," "Satin Doll," and the theme from Anatomy of a Murder.
Strayhorn also contributed to other recordings by Cootie Williams, Bigard, Johnny Hodges, the Ellingtonians, the Coronets, Louie Bellson, Ben Webster, and Clark Terry. He composed the song "King Fought for the Battle of 'Bam" for Martin Luther King, Jr., and was also an influence of Lena Horne.
In 1946, Strayhorn received the Esquire Silver Award for outstanding arranger. Invited by the Duke Ellington Jazz Society, in 1965 he presented a concert, using only his own work, at New York's New School of Social Research.
Billy Strayhorn died in New York on May 31, 1967.
The Billy Strayhorn Master Editions Collection contains finale scores and parts generated by music editing software, derived directly from his handwritten manuscripts. Some of the scores were never performed during Strayhorn's lifetime. There are also reprints of a signed photograph of Strayhorn.
The following related resources are located in the Department of Special Collections:
http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/spcl/select.html
Chicago Jazz Archive
| Box 1 Folder 1 | "After All," 1941 |
| Box 1 Folder 2 | "Agra," 1964 |
| Box 1 Folder 3 | "All Day Long," circa 1951 |
| Box 1 Folder 4 | "All Too Soon," 1957 |
| Box 1 Folder 5 | "Bagatelle," circa 1956 |
| Box 1 Folder 6 | "Ballad for Very Tired and Sad Lotus Eaters," circa 1956 |
| Box 1 Folder 7 | "Bli-Blip," 1957 |
| Box 1 Folder 8 | "Blood Count," circa 1963 |
| Box 1 Folder 9 | "Blue Bird of Delhi," 1964 |
| Box 1 Folder 10 | "Blue House," 1941 |
| Box 1 Folder 11 | "Blue House," circa 1941 |
| Box 2 Folder 1 | "Blue Star," circa 1941 |
| Box 2 Folder 2 | "Blues in Orbit," circa 1959 |
| Box 2 Folder 3 | "Boll Weevil Ballet," score only, 1946 |
| Box 2 Folder 4 | "Boo-Dah," circa 1953 |
| Box 2 Folder 5 | "Brown Betty," 1948 |
| Box 2 Folder 6 | "Cashmere Cutie," circa 1957 |
| Box 2 Folder 7 | "Chelsea Bridge," 1941 |
| Box 2 Folder 8 | "Clementine," 1941 |
| Box 2 Folder 9 | "Day Dream," 1957 |
| Box 2 Folder 10 | "Dirge," 1943 |
| Box 2 Folder 11 | "Drop Me Off at Harlem," 1957 |
| Box 2 Folder 12 | "The Eighth Veil," 1946 |
| Box 3 Folder 1 | "Everything But You," 1957 |
| Box 3 Folder 2 | "Ev'rything's Copasetic!," score only, 1962 |
| Box 3 Folder 3 | "Fantastic Rhythm," piano only, 1934 |
| Box 3 Folder 4 | "Feet on the Beat," circa 1955 |
| Box 3 Folder 5 | "Flame Indigo," score only, 1941 |
| Box 3 Folder 6 | "Flamingo," 1940 |
| Box 3 Folder 7 | "A Flower is a Lovesome Thing," circa 1946 |
| Box 3 Folder 8 | "The Flowers Die of Love," piano only, 1953 |
| Box 3 Folder 9 | "Fol-de-rol-rol: Beggar's Holiday," score only, circa 1946 |
| Box 3 Folder 10 | "Grievin'," 1956 |
| Box 3 Folder 11 | "Hip," score only, 1941 |
| Box 3 Folder 12 | "The Hipper-Bug," score only, 1941 |
| Box 3 Folder 13 | 'I Ain't Got Nothing But the Blues," 1957 |
| Box 3 Folder 14 | 'I Didn't Know About You," 1957 |
| Box 3 Folder 15 | "I Got it Bad (And That Ain't Good)," circa 1950 |
| Box 4 Folder 1 | "I'm Just a Lucky So-and-So," 1957 |
| Box 4 Folder 2 | "Isfahan," 1963 |
| Box 4 Folder 3 | "It Don't Mean a Thing (If it Ain't Got That Swing)," circa 1943 |
| Box 4 Folder 4 | "Jo, score only," circa 1941 |
| Box 4 Folder 5 | "The Kissing Bug," 1945 |
| Box 4 Folder 6 | "Lana Turner [Charpoy]," 1944 |
| Box 4 Folder 7 | "Let Nature Take its Course," piano only, 1935 |
| Box 4 Folder 8 | "Lonely Again (Lush Life)," score only, circa 1938 |
| Box 4 Folder 9 | "Lost in Meditation," 1957 |
| Box 4 Folder 10 | "Love, Love," piano only, 1953 |
| Box 4 Folder 11 | "Lozit," score only, circa 1941 |
| Box 4 Folder 12 | "Matinee, score only," circa 1945 |
| Box 4 Folder 13 | "Mid-Riff," circa 1944 |
| Box 4 Folder 14 | "Newport Jazz Festival Suite," 1956 |
| Box 5 Folder 1 | "Nutcracker Suite," 1960 |
| Box 5 Folder 2 | "On the Wrong Side of the Rail Road Tracks," score only, circa 1946 |
| Box 5 Folder 3 | "Orson (Theme for Helen)," circa 1951 |
| Box 5 Folder 4 | "Overture to a Jam Session," circa 1946 |
| Box 5 Folder 5 | "Passion Flower," circa 1941 |
| Box 5 Folder 6 | "Passion Flower," circa 1945 |
| Box 5 Folder 7 | "Passion Flower," circa 1949 |
| Box 5 Folder 8 | "Peer Gynt Suites 1 & 2," 1960 |
| Box 6 Folder 1 | "A Penthouse on Shady Avenue," piano only, 1935 |
| Box 6 Folder 2 | "Pentonsilic," circa 1941 |
| Box 6 Folder 3 | "Perfume Suite," 1943-1944 |
| Box 6 Folder 4 | "Pomegranate: A Drum is a Woman, score only," circa 1957 |
| Box 6 Folder 5 | "Portrait of a Silk Thread," circa 1944 |
| Box 6 Folder 6 | "Pretty Girl [Star-crossed Lovers]," score only, 1956 |
| Box 6 Folder 7 | "Rain Check," 1941 |
| Box 6 Folder 8 | "La Sacre Supreme," circa 1944 |
| Box 6 Folder 9 | "Smada," circa 1951 |
| Box 6 Folder 10 | "Snibor," circa 1947 |
| Box 7 Folder 1 | "So This is Love," piano only, 1934 |
| Box 7 Folder 2 | "Something to Live For," score only, 1942 |
| Box 7 Folder 3 | "Sophisticated Lady," 1956 |
| Box 7 Folder 4 | "Suite for the Duo," 1966 |
| Box 7 Folder 5 | "Sweet & Pungent," circa 1959 |
| Box 7 Folder 6 | "Swing Dance," circa 1962 |
| Box 7 Folder 7 | "Take the "A" Train," 1941 |
| Box 7 Folder 8 | "Take the "A" Train," 1957 |
| Box 7 Folder 9 | "Theme from Anatomy of a Murder," score only, 1959 |
| Box 7 Folder 10 | "Tiffany," score only, circa 1955 |
| Box 7 Folder 11 | "Tonk," 1940 |
| Box 7 Folder 12 | "U.M.M.G. (Upper Manhattan Medical Group)," circa 1954 |
| Box 7 Folder 13 | "Valse," circa 1933 |
| Box 7 Folder 14 | Reprint, signed photo of Billy Strayhorn, 2000 |