3 Things to Know About the Song That Inspired a Coltrane Album

  1. Billy Strayhorn wrote “Lush Life” in the 1930s, decades before it became the title track of a John Coltrane album.
  2. Coltrane recorded the song as a trio piece, with his tenor saxophone accompanied only by bass and drums.
  3. The track gives its name to the Coltrane album, making Strayhorn’s composition the album’s centerpiece.