Gene Chandler
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Gene Chandler
Gene Chandler (born Eugene Drake Dixon; July 6, 1937) is an American singer, songwriter, music producer, and record-label executive. Chandler is nicknamed "the Duke of Earl" or, simply, "the Duke." He is best known for his most successful songs, "Duke of Earl" and " Groovy Situation", and his association with the Dukays, the Impressions, and Curtis Mayfield. Chandler is a Grammy Hall of Fame inductee and a recipient of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation's Pioneer Award. He is one of the few singers to achieve chart success spanning the doo-wop, rhythm and blues, soul and disco musical eras, with some top-40 pop and R&B chart hits between 1961 and 1986. Chandler was inducted as a performer into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame on August 24, 2014. In 2016, he became a double inductee in the R&B Music Hall of Fame with his induction as an R&B music pioneer. Early years Chandler was born Eugene Drake Dixon in Chicago on July 6, 1937. He attended Englewood High School on ...
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Duke Of Earl
"Duke of Earl" is a 1962 US number-one song, originally recorded by Gene Chandler. It is the best known of Chandler's songs, and he subsequently dubbed himself "The Duke of Earl". The song was penned by Chandler, Bernice Williams, and Earl Edwards. This song was a 2002 inductee into the Grammy Hall of Fame. It has also been selected by The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. Original version by Gene Chandler The song originated from warm-up exercises by the Dukays, a vocal group that included Chandler (under his original name, Eugene Dixon) and Earl Edwards and that had already had some success on the R&B chart. The group would regularly warm up by singing "Do do do do..." in different keys. On one occasion, Dixon changed the syllables he was singing to include Earl's name, and the chant gradually became the nonsense words "Du..du..du..Duke of Earl". The pair worked on the song with regular songwriter and mentor Bernice Williams, and ...
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Groovy Situation
"Groovy Situation" is a 1969 song written by Russell Lewis and Herman Davis, and first recorded by Mel and Tim. The song was included as a track on the duo's, 1969, "Good Guys Only Win In The Movies" LP. Gene Chandler recording "Groovy Situation" was a hit single when recorded by Gene Chandler on Mercury Records in 1970, in a version produced by Chandler. It was Chandler's second-biggest chart hit single, his biggest being the million-selling #1, "Duke of Earl", in 1962. It was taken from his album, ''The Gene Chandler Situation''. This version is noted for the instrumental quoting, by muted trumpets, of the first 8 notes of the song "A Tisket, A Tasket" heard during the Introduction as well as in the Coda section, before the repeated chorus takes place before the song's fade. Chandler's version is also noted for the repeated phrase: "Can You Dig It", heard in the introductions of the two verses. The success of this, and other records he wrote, recorded and produced that year ea ...
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Rhythm And Blues
Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music ... ith aheavy, insistent beat" was becoming more popular. In the commercial rhythm and blues music typical of the 1950s through the 1970s, the bands usually consisted of piano, one or two guitars, bass, drums, one or more saxophones, and sometimes background vocalists. R&B lyrical themes often encapsulate the African-American experience of pain and the quest for freedom and joy, as well as triumphs and failures in terms of relationships, economics, and aspirations. The term "rhythm and blues" has undergone a number of shifts in meaning. In the early 1950s, it was frequently applied to blues records. Starting in the mid-1950s, after this style of music contr ...
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Rhythm And Blues Music Hall Of Fame
The National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame is an independent organization whose mission is to educate and to celebrate, preserve, promote, and present rhythm and blues music globally. History The National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame was founded in 2010. Its name was originally the Official Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame. It was founded and developed by the very successful American professional basketball player LaMont "ShowBoat" Robinson, who is also an R&B activist and an entrepreneur. Robinson is also the founder and owner/player of the comedy basketball team the Harlem Clowns. Robinson's love for R&B and soul music began at an early age. He would often attend music practice sessions with his musician uncle, a house band member at Leo's Casino, a night club in Cleveland, Ohio. It was one of the premier clubs in the Midwest during the 1960s for R&B, jazz, and African American comedians such as Redd Foxx, Flip Wilson, Richard Pryor and Moms Mabley. This love for R&B inspire ...
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Chart-topper
A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include record sales, the amount of radio airplay, the number of downloads, and the amount of streaming activity. Some charts are specific to a particular musical genre and most to a particular geographical location. The most common period covered by a chart is one week with the chart being printed or broadcast at the end of this time. Summary charts for years and decades are then calculated from their component weekly charts. Component charts have become an increasingly important way to measure the commercial success of individual songs. A common format of radio and television programmes is to run down a music chart. Chart hit A ''chart hit'' is a recording, identified by its inclusion in a chart that uses sales or other criteria to rank popular ...
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Recording Industry Association Of America
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/or distribute approximately 85% of all legally sold recorded music in the United States". RIAA is headquartered in Washington, D.C. RIAA was formed in 1952. Its original mission was to administer recording copyright fees and problems, work with trade unions, and do research relating to the record industry and government regulations. Early RIAA standards included the RIAA equalization curve, the format of the stereophonic record groove and the dimensions of 33 1/3, 45, and 78 rpm records. RIAA says its current mission includes: #to protect intellectual property rights and the First Amendment rights of artists #to perform research about the music industry #to monitor and review relevant laws, regulations, and policies Between 2001 and 202 ...
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Music Recording Certification
Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music Sound recording, recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see List of music recording certifications). Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories, which are named after precious materials (gold, platinum and diamond). The threshold required for these awards depends upon the population of the territory where the recording is released. Typically, they are awarded only to international releases and are awarded individually for each country where the album is sold. Different sales levels, some perhaps 10 times greater than others, may exist for different music media (for example: videos versus albums, singles, or music download). History The original gold and silver record awards were presented to artists by their own record companies to publicize t ...
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Vee-Jay Records
Vee-Jay Records is an American record label founded in the 1950s, located in Chicago and specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. The label was founded in Gary, Indiana in 1953 by Vivian Carter and James C. Bracken, a husband-and-wife team who used their initials for the label's name.Thompson, Dave (2002). ''A Music Lover's Guide to Record Collecting'', pp. 286-89. San Francisco: Backbeat Books. . Vivian's brother, Calvin Carter, was the label's A&R man. Ewart Abner, formerly of Chance Records, joined the label in 1955, first as manager, then as vice president, and ultimately as president. One of the earliest African American-owned record companies, Vee-Jay quickly became a major R&B label, with the first song recorded, the Spaniels' "Baby It's You," making it to the top ten on the national R&B charts. Notable artists Major acts on the label in the 1950s included blues singers Jimmy Reed, Memphis Slim, and John Lee Hooker, and rhythm and blues vocal g ...
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Bill Sheppard (music Producer)
Bill "Bunky" Sheppard (20 March 1922 in New Orleans – 1 July 1997 in Los Angeles) was an American, Chicago-based music promoter and music producer of the 1950s and 1960s, who eventually became Vice President of 20th Century Fox Records (1978-1992). He promoted such groups as The Esquires (" Get on Up", "And Get Away", and "Girls in the City "Girls in the City" is a song written by Tony Hester and performed by The Esquires The Esquires were an American R&B group from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, principally active from 1957 to 1976. History The group first formed in 195 ..."), The Sheppards and others.Edward Komara, Peter Lee Blues Encyclopedia - 2004 - Page 877 "Bill ''Bunky'' Sheppard began working with doo-wop groups in Chicago during the 1950s, independently producing " Discography *"Burnin'", The Bill Sheppard Combo on Ewart Abner's Abner Records References 1922 births 1997 deaths American music industry executives Record producers from Louisiana 20t ...
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Carl Davis (record Producer)
Carl H. Davis, Sr. (September 19, 1934 – August 9, 2012) was an American record producer and music executive, who was particularly active in Chicago in the 1960s and 1970s. He was responsible for hit R&B records by Gene Chandler, Major Lance, Jackie Wilson, The Chi-Lites, Barbara Acklin, Tyrone Davis and others. Life and career Davis was born in Chicago and attended Englewood High School. He began working as an assistant to disc jockey Al Benson on radio station WGES in 1955, and then joined a record marketing company. In the early 1960s, he helped run the small Nat record label which had a local hit with the song "Nite Owl" by the DuKays, produced by Davis. A follow-up release, "Duke of Earl", which Davis also produced, was credited to the group's lead singer Gene Chandler, and became a national no. 1 hit after being leased to the larger Vee-Jay label. In 1962, Davis began working as a producer and A&R director for the Columbia subsidiary label OKeh, where he produced ...
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United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United States Constitution (1789). See alsTitle 10, Subtitle B, Chapter 301, Section 3001 The oldest and most senior branch of the U.S. military in order of precedence, the modern U.S. Army has its roots in the Continental Army, which was formed 14 June 1775 to fight the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783)—before the United States was established as a country. After the Revolutionary War, the Congress of the Confederation created the United States Army on 3 June 1784 to replace the disbanded Continental Army.Library of CongressJournals of the Continental Congress, Volume 27/ref> The United States Army considers itself to be a continuation of the Continental Army, and thus considers its institutional inception to be th ...
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Earl Edwards (songwriter)
Earl G. Edwards (May 1, 1936 – April 23, 2019) was an American R&B singer and songwriter. He was born in Memphis, Tennessee as one of thirteen children born to Reuben and Lucille Edwards. Along with Bernice Williams and Gene Chandler (né Eugene Dixon), he co-wrote the 1962 hit "Duke of Earl". It was originally intended for his group, The Dukays, but Vee-Jay Records Vee-Jay Records is an American record label founded in the 1950s, located in Chicago and specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. The label was founded in Gary, Indiana in 1953 by Vivian Carter and James C. Bracken, a h ..., who later bought the song, gave the vocal credit to Chandler. Edwards died on April 23, 2019, at age 82. References 1936 births 2019 deaths American male songwriters People from Memphis, Tennessee {{US-songwriter-stub ...
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