This photograph of President Richard M. Nixon and Duke Ellington was taken on April 29, 1969 during a program honoring Ellington's seventieth birthday. Nixon plays "Happy Birthday" on the gilded 1938 Steinway and Sons piano in the East Room of the White House. Ellington (1899-1974) was a prolific musician, composer and band leader who wrote numerous songs that became classics of American jazz. At this celebration, Ellington was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his contributions to American music.