...And His Mother Called Him Bill is the seventh studio album by
Duke Ellington. He recorded the album in the wake of the death of his long-time music partner
Billy Strayhorn. All of the songs featured were written or co-written by Strayhorn. Some were Strayhorn's last works ("
Blood Count" and "The Intimacy Of The Blues") while others were rarely, if ever, recorded with Ellington's band. Because of this, Strayhorn's best known tune, "
Take the "A" Train", was not recorded for this release.