Poodle Dog Rag Biography Essay

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Born in Washington D.C., April 29, 1899, I have accomplished many things in my life; I have remained an influence after my death. I grew up in a family where my parents were both pianist. I began taking piano lessons at age seven. My childhood friends were the first to notice how my demeanor made me the “bearing of a noble gentleman” and began referring to me as “Duke.” Although I grew up in a family of musicians, I was more interested in baseball than music. My first job was selling peanuts at the Washington Senators baseball games. In the summer of 1914, I wrote my first composition titled “Soda Fountain Rag,” also known as “Poodle Dog Rag.” I created this song by ear because I had not yet learned to read or write music. Listeners never knew it was the same piece when listening to it because I would play it as a one-step, two-step, waltz, tango, and fox trot. I was…show more content…
My music stretched and influenced various other genres such as blues, gospel, film scores, popular, and classical genres. My career spanned more than 50 years and included leading my orchestra, composing an “inexhaustible” songbook, scoring for movies, composing stage musicals, and world tours. I am generally considered to have “elevated the perception of jazz to an art form on a par with other traditional genres of music” due to my charisma and eloquence. I refer to my music as “American Music” rather than jazz. I melded the “beyond category” individuals of my orchestra into the most well-known jazz orchestral units in the history of jazz. My style is often used to create the many styles of music today, like a foundation or standard to make other music. My reputation increased after my death on May 24, 1974 because of the broad influence of my music and its diversity. I am the greatest icon of the 1920s. I am the one and only,

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