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 "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 ...

", 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 Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...

, rhythm and blues, soul and

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

musical eras, with some top-40 pop and R&B

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...

hits between 1961 and 1986. Chandler was inducted as a performer into the

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 ...

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 the city's South Side. Chandler began performing during the early 1950s with the Gaytones. He joined the Dukays with James Lowe, Shirley Jones, Earl Edwards and Ben Broyles in 1957, soon becoming their lead singer. After being drafted into the U.S. Army, Chandler returned to Chicago in 1960 and rejoined the Dukays.

Career

The Dukays were offered a recording contract by Nat Records and recorded "The Girl Is a Devil" (1961), a single, with producers Carl Davis and Bill "Bunky" Sheppard. This was followed by a session in August 1961 which resulted in four songs, including "Nite Owl" and "Duke of Earl". Nat Records released "Nite Owl", and it became an R&B success by the end of the year. Davis and Sheppard shopped "Duke of Earl" to Vee-Jay Records, which released it in 1962 by Dixon (known as Gene Chandler). "Duke of Earl" sold one million copies in a little over a month, and was awarded a gold disc by the

RIAA 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/o ...

. After the song spent three weeks at number one on the ''Billboard'' charts, Chandler purchased a cape, monocle, cane and top hat and advertised himself as the Duke of Earl. He appeared in costume singing "Duke of Earl" in ''

Don't Knock the Twist ''Don't Knock the Twist'' is a 1962 comedy musical film starring Lang Jeffries, directed by Oscar Rudolph and produced by Sam Katzman for release by Columbia Pictures. It is a sequel to the 1961 film ''Twist Around the Clock'', featuring m ...

'', a 1962 film featuring Chubby Checker. Chandler's concerts became popular, and he performed encoresusually " Rainbow", a Curtis Mayfield song. Chandler left Vee-Jay in the autumn of 1963 and recorded for Constellation Records, another Chicago company. After Constellation went bankrupt in 1966, he was contracted to Chess and then to Brunswick Records; for a time, Chess and Brunswick alternated in releasing Chandler's recordings. He had Top-20 hits with Constellation with "Just Be True" (1964) and "Nothing Can Stop Me" (1965), both written by Curtis Mayfield and produced by Carl Davis. Other successes included "What Now," "Rainbow," "I Fooled You This Time," "Think Nothing About It," "A Man's Temptation," "To Be a Lover," "Rainbow '65" (recorded live at Chicago's Regal Theater), "Bless Our Love" and "You Can't Hurt Me No More." Chandler was also successful with his cover version of

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

's "There Was a Time" and "You Threw a Lucky Punch", released as an answer song to Mary Wells'

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

hit "You Beat Me to the Punch." After several years performing concerts, Chandler decided to become more involved with music production. He formed a production company and two record labels: Bamboo and Mister Chand. Chandler produced a hit with "Groovy Situation", released on Mercury Records in 1970, which reached number 12 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number eight on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' R&B charts: his second-greatest success, after "Duke of Earl". "Groovy Situation" sold over a million copies and was certified gold by the RIAA in November of that year. Chandler had produced "Backfield In Motion" in 1969 for

Mel and Tim Mel and Tim were an American soul music duo active from 1969 to 1974. They are best known for the hit songs "Backfield in Motion", " Starting All Over Again" and "Good Guys Only Win in the Movies". Career Melvin McArthur Hardin and Hubert Timoth ...

on Bamboo Records, which reached number three on the R&B chart and the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. He followed this in 1970 with "Good Guys Only Win in the Movies" for the duo; the song reached number 17 on the R&B chart and number 45 on the pop-music chart. Later that year, Chandler recorded the album ''Gene and Jerry: One on One'' with fellow Chicago artist Jerry Butler. He also sang with the Impressions and Curtis Mayfield on the live album, ''

Curtis in Chicago ''Curtis in Chicago'' is a 1973 live album by Curtis Mayfield and others. Mayfield is joined by The Impressions, Jerry Butler, Gene Chandler and others in a review of Mayfield's then-fifteen years as a recording artist. Track listing All tr ...

'' (1973). Chandler sang on

Arthur Louis Arthur Louis (21 June 1945 – 24 December 2014) was a British rock, blues and reggae crossover (music), cross-over musician. His surname is pronounced as ''luːɪs (Lewis)'' and he held British nationality. He released three solo albums and wa ...

's album, ''Knocking on Heaven's Door'' (1974), with

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

. A period with

Curtom Records Curtom Records was a record label started in 1968 by Curtis Mayfield and Impressions manager Eddie Thomas. The label's name was a combination of Mayfield's first name and Thomas' last name. Mayfield had previously made attempts at a record lab ...

, a label co-founded by Mayfield, resulted in four self-produced singles; none charted. Chandler was again successful with disco-style music during the late 1970s, creating hits with his former producer Carl Davis which included "Get Down" (1978), "When You're #1" and "Does She Have a Friend?" Appointed executive vice-president of Davis'

Chi-Sound Records Chi-Sound Records is an independent record label set up in 1976 by established Chicago record producer Carl Davis. He had been involved in the music industry since the early 1960s working with locally based labels, including Vee-Jay and Okeh, a ...

, he worked with reggae singer Johnny Nash. A late-1970 interest in older musicians inspired disc jockey Wolfman Jack to organize a tour, including vintage acts such as Chandler. "Duke of Earl" was sampled by

Cypress Hill Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. They have sold over 20 million albums worldwide and have multi-platinum and platinum albums. They are considered to be among the main progenitors of West Coast and 1990 ...

on "Hand on the Pump" from their album, ''

'' (1991), and Chandler's song "Hallelujah, I Love Her So" was sampled on their album '' Black Sunday'' (1993). In 1997, he received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. In 1988, "Duke of Earl" was included on the soundtrack of '' Hairspray''; "Groovy Situation" appeared on '' Anchorman: Music from the Motion Picture'' (2004). In 2002, "Duke of Earl" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. "Duke of Earl" was selected by the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...

as one of its "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll". In 2016, Chandler was honored in his hometown of Chicago by having a street named after him for his industry accomplishments, hit records, and his civic and philanthropic efforts for the city and its people.

Discography

Albums

Solo releases and collaborations:Larkin: "Gene Chandler".

Singles

References

Bibliography

* * * * * *

External links

Official Gene Chandler website

WGN Radio's ''Pete Mc Murray'' interviews the "Duke of Earl", ''Gene Chandler''.
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chandler, Gene 1937 births Living people 20th-century African-American male singers American male singers African-American record producers Record producers from Illinois African-American songwriters American music industry executives American rhythm and blues singers American soul musicians American soul singers Doo-wop musicians Brunswick Records artists Checker Records artists Mercury Records artists Northern soul musicians Singers from Chicago Vee-Jay Records artists Songwriters from Illinois Englewood Technical Prep Academy alumni 21st-century African-American people American male songwriters