Earl G. Edwards (May 1, 1936 – April 23, 2019) was an American R&B singer and songwriter. He was born in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

as one of thirteen children born to Reuben and Lucille Edwards. Along with Bernice Williams and

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 son ...

(né Eugene Dixon), he co-wrote the 1962 hit "

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 Edwa ...

". 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