We're Making Progress in Our Campaign to Get Duke Ellington the Pulitzer He Was Denied in 1965

Thousands of signatures and support from the biggest names in American music

We are only four days into our campaign to get the 1965 Pulitzer Prize in Music awarded to Duke Ellington, but we have already made remarkable progress.

Many of the leading names in American music have offered their support—it’s frankly an amazing list (see below). And the petition now has more than 7,500 signatures.

If you haven’t signed already, you can do so here.

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There has been no response from the Pulitzer board. Zero. Nada. Zilch. But the media has just started paying attention to this initiative.

You can read the whole back story here. But the quick summary is that the music jury in 1965 decided to give the award to Duke Ellington for his lifetime achievement, but the Pulitzer Board rejected the recommendation. No Pulitzer was given for music that year.

Revisiting the matter today would simply require the Board voting to accept the original jury recommendation.

A dozen other Pulitzer winners have already expressed their support.

The first boost came from composer John Adams just a few hours after the petition was launched:

John Adams@HellTweet

I'm often asked in interviews who I consider America's greatest composer. When I say Ellington, I'll get an indulgent smile ("hah hah...but seriously now, who do you REALLy consider..") and I say "You heard me right the first time." Bravo @tedgioia

Ted Gioia @tedgioia

I’ve launched an online petition for Duke Ellington to be granted the Pulitzer Prize he was denied in 1965—despite the recommendation of the music jury. You can learn more here: https://t.co/zfV42z0sz1

7:21 PM · Jul 17, 2022

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136 Reposts · 842 Likes

And a few hours later, David Lang, another prominent Pulitzer-winning composer, also gave us an online endorsement:

david lang@davidlangmusic

this is a great idea!

Ted Gioia @tedgioia

I’ve launched an online petition for Duke Ellington to be granted the Pulitzer Prize he was denied in 1965—despite the recommendation of the music jury. You can learn more here: https://t.co/zfV42z0sz1

4:51 PM · Jul 18, 2022

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4 Likes

The latest news, right before going to press, is that both Philip Glass and Terry Riley have endorsed the cause.

Tim Page, who won a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism, has not only expressed his support, but helped spread the word and secure endorsements from others.

Here is the complete list of Pulitzer honorees who have already given their support for the Duke Ellington petition (in alphabetical order):

• John Adams, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Music

• John Luther Adams, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Music

• William Bolcom, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Music

• Justin Davidson, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism

• Michael Dirda, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism

• Philip Kennicott, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism

• David Lang, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Music

• Tania León, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Music

• Tim Page, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism

• Steve Reich, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Music

• Caroline Shaw, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Music

• Gene Weingarten, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing

You can sign it here.