On the Road with Duke Ellington: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

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.

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.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1967
• Directed by: Robert Drew, American, 1924 - 2014
• Produced by: Anne Gilbert, American, 1941 - 2012
• Subject of: Duke Ellington, American, 1899 - 1974
• Narrated by: Don Morrow, American, 1927 - 2020
• Subject of: Louis Armstrong, American, 1901 - 1971
• Subject of: Mercer Ellington, American, 1919 - 1996
• Subject of: Johnny Hodges, American, 1906 - 1970
• Subject of: Billy Strayhorn, American, 1915 - 1967
• Type: sound films
• Type: color films (visual works)
• Type: 16mm (photographic film size)
• Medium: acetate film
• Dimensions: Duration (Reel 1): 22 Minutes
• Dimensions: Length (Film): 800 Feet
• Dimensions: Duration (Reel 2): 28 Minutes
• Dimensions: Length (Film): 1000 Feet
• Place used: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Composers (Musicians)
• Topic: Conductors (Musicians)
• Topic: Documentary films
• Topic: Film
• Topic: HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities)
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Object number: 2017.55.54.1ab
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Transferred from the DC Public Library
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: Restrictions likely apply. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.