William Thomas Strayhorn, nicknamed "Swee' Pea", has been described as "a miniature, black Noel Coward" and "Duke Ellington's alter ego", but neither title does justice to his genius as an original composer, lyricist, arranger and pianist. During a prolific and prodigal life terminated by throat cancer at the age of fifty-one in 1967, Billy Strayhorn wrote or co-wrote and often performed many of Ellington's best-known orchestral suites and songs, including his theme, Take the `A' Train, which Strayhorn dashed off on reading instructions on how to get to Ellington's apartment in Harlem, and which was played slowly, as a dirge, at Strayhorn's funeral. Strayhorn was a homosexual who made no secret of the fact. He was loved by innumerable men and women, especially Lena Horne, who called him the love of her life. David Hajdu's thoroughly researched biography records the details of Strayhorn's musical achievements, his support of the civil rights movement, and his insatiable fondness for alcohol. There are photographs.