Gene Chandler
Gene Chandler (born Eugene Dixon, July 6, 1937, Chicago, Illinois) also known as "The Duke of Earl" or simply
"The Duke", is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter, producer and record executive. He is one of the leading exponents of the 1960s Chicago soul scene. He is best known for his million-selling hits, "Duke Of Earl," and "Groovy Situation," and his associations with the Dukays, the Impressions and Curtis Mayfield. A Grammy Hall Of Fame inductee, and winner of the National Association of Television and Radio Announcers Producer of the Year Award, and the Rhythm and Blues Foundation's Pioneer Award, Chandler has had more than thirty chart hits.
The Dukays were offered a
recording contract by Nat Records and recorded a single, "The Girl Is a Devil" (1961), followed by two other singles including "Nite Owl". "Nite Owl" entered the charts and he recorded with The Dukays under the name 'Gene Dixon' and as a solo act as Gene Chandler.
Vee-Jay Records released the Dukays recording of "Duke of Earl" but credited the song solely to Chandler. "Duke of Earl" sold a million copies in just over one month.
Chandler left
Vee Jay and recorded for
Constellation Records,
Chess and
Brunswick Records: these companies alternated with each other when releasing Chandler's recordings. He had a Top 20 Pop hit with "Just Be True" (1964), produced by
Curtis Mayfield. "Nothing Can Stop Me" (1965), also written by Mayfield, became a Top 20 pop hit as well. More hits followed such as "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 Theatre), "Bless Our Love", and "You Can't Hurt Me No More", during the next five years. These songs helped Gene to successfully shed his "Duke Of Earl" typecasting, and become a major R&B star. Chandler also had success with his hit
cover of
James Brown's "There Was A Time" and "You Threw A Lucky Punch", which was released as an "answer" song to
Mary Wells's
Motown hit "You Beat Me To The Punch". In 1970, Chandler recorded the album
Gene and Jerry: One on One, with
Jerry Butler.
After a number of years on the road, Chandler decided to become more involved with production of music. He produced, wrote, arranged and had a major hit with "Groovy Situation" (1970), which reached #12 on the pop charts pop and #8 on the R&B charts, becoming his second biggest hit since "Duke Of Earl". "Groovy Situation" sold more than a million copies, and received a
gold disc awarded by the
R.I.A.A. in November 1970.
The hits he recorded and produced earned him
The National Association of Television and Radio Announcers Producer of the Year Award in 1970, against competition from other esteemed nominees including
Kenneth Gamble,
Leon Huff and
Norman Whitfield. He also appeared with
The Impressions and Curtis Mayfield on the
live album Curtis in Chicago (1973). Chandler appeared on
Arthur Louis's album
Knocking on Heaven's Door (1974) alongside
Eric Clapton. Later he had success with
disco music, creating hits such as "Get Down" (1978), "When You're #1", "Does She Have A Friend?" and "Rainbow '80".
During this time he was also the Executive Vice President of
Chi Sound Records and worked with
reggae star
Johnny Nash. In the late 1970s an interest in older musicians inspired
US DJ Wolfman Jack put together a tour including
vintage acts featuring Chandler.
"Duke of Earl" was
sampled by
Cypress Hill, on the song "Hand on the Pump" from their album
Cypress Hill (1991) and also Chandler's song "Hallelujah, I Love Her So" for their album
Black Sunday (1993). In Argentina,
Cris Morena was the host of a popular teenage programe 'Jugate Conmigo' the song was included on the main intro on the fiction novel, inside the program called: "Life College" (1994). In 1997 Chandler was inducted as a Pioneer Award honoree into the
Rhythm and Blues Foundation .Chandler's "Tomorrow I May Not Feel the Same" was sampled by
Reflection Eternal on the song "Ghetto Afterlife" from
Train of Thought (2000).
Chandler still performs in Chicago,
Las Vegas and elsewhere in the US.
One of my all time favourite voices. Here we go with part one............"The Duke", Mr. Gene Chandler.....
After the laughter
Ain't no use
Baby that's love
Bet you never thought
Bless our love (Live-Regal Theater '65)
Bless our love
Buddy ain't it a shame
Check yourself (bonus)
Check yourself
Cowboys to girls
Daddy's home w/ The Dukays/The Duke of Earl
Duke of Earl w/ The Dukays
Eleanor Rigby
Everybody let's dance
Festival of love w/ The Dukays
Fool for you
From teacher to the preacher
Good times
Here come the tears
I can take care of myself
I fooled you this time
I wake up crying
I'll follow you
I'm the traveling kind
If you can't be true (live '65)
If you can't be true
Introduction/Rainbow (live '65)
It's no good for me
It's time to settle down
The big lie w/ The Dukays
The girl don't care
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