 even though he only lived with her as her real husband for a few years after they had a son. But he had perpetual mistresses. And he stayed married to that same woman because she gave him the perfect excuse not to have to marry any of his mistresses. And Duke's granddaughter, Mercedes, took me on a long tour of Duke Ellington's life in Harlem. The tour took a while when we looked at all the places that he had lived.