A Bite of Gene Chandler 🍪
My earliest memories are set to The Duke's smooth sound
Monday Bites are bite-sized musician spotlights & playlists by Grace Lilly.
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One of my earliest memories
I’m less than two years old, being held in the air by both of my parents. They’re swaying me back and forth, smiling, singing along to “Duke of Earl,” Gene Chandler’s first hit.
In less than a year, my dad will pass away from cancer. The three of us are in our house in a small Colorado mountain town called Evergreen, where we lived before my mom and I moved to D.C. three years later.
When I was a baby, my parents used to play this Billboard 1962 Top Rock’n’Roll Hits album on repeat. One of our most-listened to tracks was Gene’s “Duke of Earl.”
As I grew up, “Duke of Earl” became one of my favorite songs. It was easy for my kid-brain to remember the words. I loved how simple it felt to sing the repetitious “Duke, duke, duke, duke.” It was so fun.
To this day, any time I hear that song, I get intense pangs of nostalgia. Gene Chandler’s music colored the only two years I had with my father before he passed away, the only two years where my mom, my dad and I were a trio. Gene’s music will always have a sacred spot in my heart.
Gene Chandler
The basics
🤝 American singer, songwriter, music producer, and composer
🤝 b. 1937 (Chicago, IL)
🤝 R&B, soul, rock, funk
Why you should know him: Chandler is a living pioneer of R&B music, an icon of the 60s Soul scene, and one of the few singers to have achieved chart success spanning doo-wop, R&B, soul and disco
If you like
✨ Earth, Wind & Fire
✨ Stevie Wonder
✨ The Temptations
✨ Thundercat
✨ Vulfpeck
Known for
🏆 Grammy Hall of Fame inductee; double inductee in the R&B Music Hall of Fame & recipient of the Pioneer Award
🏆 Releasing 28 hits in the top 100 and 19 hits in the top 40
🏆 Working closely with Curtis Mayfield
🏆 Having a street named after him in Chicago for his industry accomplishments, hit records, and his civic & philanthropic efforts for the city and its people
Bite-sized facts
🍪 Born as Eugene Dixon, raised on Chicago's South Side
🍪 As a teen, he was a well-known curbside crooner; founded the doo-wop vocal group the Gaytones while still in high school
🍪 Was drafted into the US Army at age 20 and served in Germany until 1960
🍪 Started wearing a cape, monocle, cane and top hat to advertise himself as the Duke of Earl after his single of the same name went #1
🍪 Owned 2 record labels, served as a producer at A&M Records, and was named a vice president at the Chicago label Chi-Sound
Songs & dates
♫ 1962 His first single as a solo artist, “Duke of Earl,” sells 1 million copies in a little over a month, spends 3 weeks at #1 on the Billboard charts, and is awarded gold certification by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America)
♫ 1962 His Curtis Mayfield-penned single “Rainbow” spends 12 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart
♫ 1970 "Groovy Situation" sells over a million copies, reaches # 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, and is certified gold by the RIAA
♫ 2002 “Duke of Earl” is inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame
He said
⭐ “When you're tired of what you got, try me.”
My Gene Playlist
I gathered my fav Gene songs, from me to you with love. Save on Spotify and listen all week 💗
My advice: to really appreciate the production, listen with headphones on 🎧
Where to start
Talking “Duke of Earl”
The story of how his most famous song came to be
〰️
A true entertainer
Performing “Rainbow” live
〰️
Street naming
Friends and locals gather to honor Gene in the ceremony for the street named after him in Chicago on December 3, 2016
Down the rabbit hole
If you wanna dive even deeper:
Doo Wop 50 (1999) on Youtube
For a fun time, check out this television documentary celebrating 50 years of vocal group harmony. Part One showcases Gene Chandler, The Platters, The Del Vikings, The Skyliners, and more! (Gene is featured at 15:35)
Latest diary entry 🤫
It felt like a party
Whenever my mom and I listened to ABBA Gold, we had a good time. It was a greatest hits 2-disc album that we kept in the car for 10+ years of my childhood.
What added to its value in my mind was that the CDs themselves were shimmery and golden, so my child brain thought they were maybe made of… gold?
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