Gene Chandler

Gene Chandler

Gene Chandler, "The Duke" was born Eugene Dixon, July 6, 1937, in Chicago, Illinois. A powerful performer and singer, he personified the laid-back, carefree attitude that the early 1960s soul and R&B singers developed. His signature hit is the # 1 Pop 1962 smash "Duke of Earl", though he wrote and performed many more songs, and collaborated with many of the greats in the soul and R&B world, such as Curtis Mayfield and Jerry Butler.

Early years

He attended Englewood High School AKA Englewood Technical Prep Academy on Chicago's south side. Although Chandler seems to have sprung into being in 1962, when he introduced himself to the world as "The Duke of Earl", Eugene Dixon had been singing since the early 1950s, first with The Gaytones. In 1957 he joined a doo-wop group called The Dukays with James Lowe, Shirley Jones, Earl Edwards and Ben Broyles, quickly becoming their lead singer. He was drafted by the US Army to Germany for three years, returned to Chicago in 1960, and rejoined his bandmates. Through music industry contacts, the Dukays were offered a recording contract by Chicago based Nat Records. The first single was titled "The Girl Is Evil." In 1961, Nat Records released a song titled "Nite Owl", and the band went back to the studio to record one more.

The Duke is born

As the story goes, during their vocal warm-ups, the group would repeat the phrase "doo-doo-doo-doo" at different pitches. Through many repetitions, it began to evolve. Words were added. Melodies began to form. Earl Edwards' name was added. The song that evolved was "Duke of Earl."

At the time, Nat Records wanted to release the new song "Duke of Earl", but was unable to. An executive with Vee-Jay records heard the song and wanted it for distribution as a song on his label, but only as a Gene Chandler record. Vee-Jay wasn't interested in The Dukays.

Meanwhile, the previously recorded "Nite Owl" was on the charts, putting Chandler in more of a dilemma. Should he stick with his bandmates, or go solo? He tried to do both. He recorded with The Dukays under the name "Gene Dixon" and recorded solo as "Gene Chandler".

When VeeJay was finally able to release "Duke of Earl", it sent it out as by "The Duke Of Earl", although the Dukays had recorded it. The song sold a million copies in just over one month. "The Duke" was born. Chandler can be seen in the full "Duke" outfit singing "The Duke of Earl" in the 1962 movie "Don't Knock the Twist", starring Chubby Checker.

The Duke lives on

After spending three weeks at number one on the Billboard Magazine charts, Chandler got a cape, a monocle, a top hat and a cane. He simply became "The Duke of Earl". His concerts were legendary for pulling in a large crowd.

Occasionally he would come out for another encore, usually "Rainbow." "Rainbow" was one of Chandler's collaborations with Curtis Mayfield, and the only song Chandler has ever recorded three times. Each time the song has been re-recorded, it became a hit all over again.

Chandler left Vee Jay and recorded for Constellation Records (which was bought by Chess Records) and for Brunswick Records. In the end, he wound up on two record labels at the same time. This left the record labels with having to work out a compromise. It was decided that the companies would alternate Chandler's releases, a new one from Brunswick, followed by a re-release from Chess. In 1964, he had a Top 20 pop smash with the Curtis Mayfield- produced "Just Be True" , another pop Top 20 in 1965 with "Nothing Can Stop Me", another Mayfield song, and hits throughout the 1960's with songs like " What Now ", " A Man's Temptation", "Bless Our Love","You Can't Hurt Me No More", and many more . He also had hits with his cover of the James Brown hit "There Was A Time" (taken from his 1968 Brunswick album of the same name ) and "You Threw A Lucky Punch" his hit "answer song" to the Mary Wells' Motown hit "You Beat Me To The Punch" . Almost all of these songs were top 5 R&B hits. To date, Chandler has had over 30 chart hits, hardly a "one hit wonder" after the success of " Duke Of Earl". Throughout his career, Gene has maintained a close personal friendship with Curtis Mayfield, Jerry Butler, and the other members of the Impressions ( Sam Gooden & Fred Cash) , and they could be frequently heard as background singers on his classic recordings. In 1970, Chandler teamed with Butler for the album "Gene and Jerry: One on One" on the Mercury label . He also guest starred with Mayfield, Butler and the group on the live album: "Curtis in Chicago" (1973). After a number of years on the road, Chandler decided to become more involved with the business end of the music industry. He produced, wrote, arranged, and , he had another major hit in 1970. Gene Chandler was ready to be on the other side of the microphone again. He signed as an artist with Mercury Records and recorded "Groovy Situation" , a massive Pop & R&B smash (reaching # 12 & # 8 respectively) his second biggest hit after "Duke Of Earl".

The hits he recorded and produced got him The National Association of Television and Radio Announcers Producer of the Year award in 1970. It should be noted that Chandler was nominated with Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff and Norman Whitfield, who were very successful producers at that time, working with The Temptations and the Philadelphia soul sound.

Chandler went on to have a number of disco era hits, including "Get Down," "When You're #1," "Does She Have A Friend?" and "Rainbow '80." Most of these were more popular in England at the time. At that time, he was also the Executive Vice President of Chi-Sound Records. He worked a lot with reggae star Johnny Nash.

The Revival

In the late 1970s, even while he was putting hits on the disco charts, the nostalgia craze began. Legendary DJ Wolfman Jack put together a traveling show of "oldies" acts, and Gene Chandler joined them in the travels around the country. In 2002, his 1961 #1 hit recording of "Duke Of Earl" was inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame .

He still performs in Chicago, Las Vegas, Nevada, and elsewhere around the US. His vocal power and performance skills haven't dimished with age . In the early 2000's He was seen on one of the famous PBS "Doo-Wop" specials. He also still wears the cape.

External links

• Gene Chandler interview