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Not an encyclopedia article. RickK 02:11, 12 Aug 2003 (UTC)
It is now. Much better than the original that RickK was complaining about.--Eric TF Bat 01:56, 29 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It says he worked with Ellington for 20 years, 25 years and 30 years. If anyone knows the real amount could they please change it. Kelpian 19:08, 19 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]
W-a-a-y too much stuff about his being "gay and black," blahblahblah. I never even knew the guy was homosexual until this article, rattling on and on about it. The stuff about his being "in the shadows" because of his homosexuality is pure speculation. Anyone who knows Ellington knows who Strayhorn is. The article needs to lose the whiney tone, it's not at all "NPOV". --B. Polhemus (talk) 21:46, 6 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]
If you did not "know the guy was homosexual," then you have never read any books on Strayhorrn and have not seen the Independent Lens documentary "Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life" on PBS. So how can you complain when you don't have the facts? In Strayhorn's time homosexuality was anathema in the jazz world and he suffered persecution and prejudice from other musicians, and his opportunities were severely limited. This information is not "blahblahblah". It is essential to understand his life. This is not "pure speculation." OwenOwen (talk) 17:41, 3 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I agree the information is important, but there is non-neutral verbiage, such as referring to homophobia as a "societal flaw" (I agree it's a societal flaw, but it's not up to a Wikipedia article to say it is). Also referring to Strayhorn as a "genius" (again, I agree, but that's the job of an essay, not an encyclopedia article).
I've removed Duke Ellington's eulogy/album notes. We can't simply post the whole thing here, it's copyright infringement. Even if it weren't, Wikiquotes (or Wikisource) would be better suited. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 01:06, 11 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]
The only statement in that section to justify it being a section is the unsourced statement that he was "openly gay." Probably he was, but there's nothing in the section about it. Everything in there, including his relationship with Bridges, could be moved to the rest of the biography.KD Tries Again (talk) 04:31, 2 July 2010 (UTC)KD Tries Again[reply]
I agree, also, it sure would be nice if there were a cite for the fact that he was 'openly' gay... what does that mean in this context? did he make an announcement? public displays of affection? an open secret? For this reason I'm gonna tag it. By all means merge it all into the bio. Dlabtot (talk) 04:46, 2 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I'm really surprised that a source for this is so hard to find. Someone? Dlabtot (talk) 06:47, 18 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]
"then-completely white classical world" - not quite[edit]
I changed the following: "the harsh reality of a black man trying to make it in the then-completely white classical world." to "the harsh reality of a black man trying to make it in the then almost completely white classical world." There WERE some African Americans performing classical music at the time, including opera singer Lillian Evanti and Mary Cardwell Dawson (who would late found the National Negro Opera Company in the very same Pittsburgh neighborhood (Homewood) where Strayhorn grew up), and my grandfather, Clyde Leroy Glass, who was Evanti's closest friend and frequent accompanist.(Library of Congress, National Negro Opera Company Collection)Carlaclaws (talk) 17:22, 6 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]
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The External Link "Ginell, Richard S..Biography of Billy Strayhorn at AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-04-26." is a malicious link.
I am new to editing Wikipedia, so I thought I'd bring it to the attention of anyone able to fix the link. Jw iridule (talk) 20:03, 4 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Billy Strayhorn (November 29, 1915 – May 31, 1967) was an American jazz composer, pianist, lyricist, and arranger, best remembered for his long-time collaboration with bandleader and composer Duke Ellington that lasted nearly three decades. Though classical music was Strayhorn's first love, his ambition to become a classical composer went unrealized because of the harsh reality of a black man trying to make his way in the world of classical music, which at that time was almost completely white. He was introduced to the music of pianists like Art Tatum and Teddy Wilson at age 19, and the artistic influence of these musicians guided him into the realm of jazz, where he remained for the rest of his life. This photograph of Strayhorn was taken by William P. Gottlieb in the 1940s.
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