<I>On the Road with Duke Ellington</I>
date: label: Date
content: 1967
name: label: Directed by
content: Robert Drew, American, 1924 - 2014
label: Produced by
content: Anne Gilbert, American, 1941 - 2012
label: Subject of
content: Duke Ellington, American, 1899 - 1974
label: Narrated by
content: Don Morrow, American, 1927 - 2020
label: Subject of
content: Louis Armstrong, American, 1901 - 1971
label: Subject of
content: Mercer Ellington, American, 1919 - 1996
label: Subject of
content: Johnny Hodges, American, 1906 - 1970
label: Subject of
content: Billy Strayhorn, American, 1915 - 1967
label: Subject of
content: Morgan State University, American, founded 1867
label: Owned by
content: D.C. Public Library, American, founded 1896
notes: label: Caption
content: This film was a part of the Washington D.C. Public Library's circulating 16mm film collection housed at the Martin Luther King Jr. Central Library. The collection is particularly noted for the wide variety of African American and African diaspora content.
label: Description
content: A documentary film with the title On the Road with Duke Ellington. It consists of two (2) reels of color 16mm acetate film with optical sound.
label: Description
content: The documentary, which focuses on the last six years of Ellington’s life, shows scenes of the musician on the road and rehearsing for performances. It opens with Ellington receiving an honorary doctorate degree from Yale University, as voiceover narration by Don Morrow plays in the background. Other scenes from the film include footage of Ellington responding to interview questions in the back of a car; footage of him moving through an airport; footage of his friends and family singing "Happy Birthday" to him on his 68th birthday; a scene with him and Louis Armstrong backstage after one of his performances; a scene where he is rehearsing a new composition for Morgan State college where he will be awarded an honorary degree; him performing his morning routine in a hotel, the narrator reports that he does not drink coffee or tea, just hot water; a scene with him working on his new composition while on downtime; a scene in which he plays the piece that he had been composing, "Salute to Morgan State," at the college where he is the recipient of an honorary doctorate degree; a scene where he is recording "Rondolet" for RCA; scenes where he describes his childhood and his appreciation of women; his transition to becoming a master of ceremonies; scenes where he describes his relationship with Billy Strayhorn and footage from Strayhorn’s funeral; a scene where he performs "In the Beginning God" with a choir onstage. In the final scene, the narrator states that some of the footage that was not originally included in the film was later added, after which Ellington and his band performs "Take the A Train," which Ellington comments was written by Billy Strayhorn.
place: label: Place used
content: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Composers (Musicians)
label: Topic
content: Conductors (Musicians)
label: Topic
content: Documentary films
label: Topic
content: Film
label: Topic
content: HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities)
label: Topic
content: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
label: Topic
content: Jazz (Music)
label: Topic
content: Men
label: Topic
content: Music
label: Topic
content: Musicians
label: Topic
content: Popular music
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Collection title
content: DC Public Library Film Collection
label: Classification
content: Time-based Media - Moving Images
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Transferred from the DC Public Library
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2017.55.54.1ab
objectType: label: Type
content: sound films
label: Type
content: color films (visual works)
label: Type
content: 16mm (photographic film size)
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Restrictions likely apply. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: acetate film
label: Dimensions
content: Duration (Reel 1): 22 Minutes
label: Dimensions
content: Length (Film): 800 Feet
label: Dimensions
content: Duration (Reel 2): 28 Minutes
label: Dimensions
content: Length (Film): 1000 Feet