And His Mother Called Him Bill

...And His Mother Called Him Bill is a 1967 album by Duke Ellington. He recorded the album in the wake of the death of his long-time music partner Billy Strayhorn. All of the songs featured were written by him. Some were Strayhorn's last works ("Blood Count" & "The Intimacy Of The Blues") while others were rarely, if ever recorded with Ellington's band. Because of this, his best known tune, "Take the "A" Train" wasn't recorded for this release. T... more

...And His Mother Called Him Bill is a 1967 album by Duke Ellington. He recorded the album in the wake of the death of his long-time music partner Billy Strayhorn. All of the songs featured were written by him. Some were Strayhorn's last works ("Blood Count" & "The Intimacy Of The Blues") while others were rarely, if ever recorded with Ellington's band. Because of this, his best known tune, "Take the "A" Train" wasn't recorded for this release. The album was first released in 1967, but was reissued several times on compact disc; first in 1987 by RCA Records/Bluebird Records, then in 1993 by Flying Dutchmen Records, and finally by BMG in 2000. Two special reissues were also released, one in America and one in France, though both had the same track listing. They were released in 2002 by RCA and 2001 by BMG International, respectively. Band: Production: less