Gene Chandler, "The Duke" was born Eugene Dixon, July
6, 1937, in Chicago, Illinois. 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. 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." 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.
You can still see him performing in his top hat, cane, and cape.
This is a non-profit, informational web page, meant to be a
reminder of the music we listened to 50 years ago. Use of copyrighted
material is consistent with the "fair use" provisions contained in
section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976; the use of copyrighted material is
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