How Duke Ellington Got His Nickname
Duke Ellington and Edgar McEntree met at a party before they began attending Armstrong Technical High School and when McEntree saw Ellington, sharply dressed like himself, and playing the piano — Ellington's first composition called "Soda Fountain Rag" — he immediately named him "Duke," according to "Duke Ellington and His World."
The two friends were both snappy dressers preferring ties, shiny shoes, and suits, and Ellington was tall for his age and brimmed with self-confidence, per "Duke Ellington." "I had a pal that I used to travel around with in high school who was a pretty fancy dresser and socially inclined — quite advanced for his age — and I think he felt that if I just had to be his constant companion, I should have a title because he was a pretty grand guy," Ellington recalled in the 1963 interview. "So he called me 'Duke' and it just went along with me to this day."
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