12/4 Today in Weird Music History: 1927.  Duke Ellington and his band are scheduled to open at the Cotton Club in Harlem but still have another week left under contract in Philadelphia.  The Cotton Club sends a couple of helpful gents named Boo-Boo Hoff and Yankee Schwartz who deliver a message to the club owner in Philly: “Be big. Be big or you’ll be dead.”  The Philly owner got the message. Duke and his band open as scheduled in NYC on this day in 1927.