- Gene Chandler
Infobox Musical artist
Name = Gene Chandler
Img_capt =
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Eugene Dixon
Born = Birth date and age|1937|7|6|mf=y
Origin =Chicago ,Illinois ,United States
Genre = R&B, soul
Occupation =Singer-songwriter ,record producer , record company executive
First_album = "Duke of Earl"
Notable songs = "Duke of Earl "
URL = [http://www.genechandler.com/ www.genechandler.com]Gene Chandler (born Eugene Dixon,
July 6 1937 ,Chicago ,Illinois [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:wifyxqw5ldfe~T1 All Music Guide biography] ] ) is an Americansinger . He is esteemed by soul fans as one of the leading exponents of the 1960sChicago soul scene, along withCurtis Mayfield and Jerry Butler. His signature hit is the #1Billboard Hot 100 chart song, "Duke of Earl " (1962). Chandler wrote and performed many more songs, and collaborated with many of the greats in the soul and R&B world.Early years
Chandler attended Englewood High School (later known as
Englewood Technical Prep Academy ) on Chicago's south side. He began performing in the early 1950s with The Gaytones. In 1957 he joined adoo-wop group called The Dukays with James Lowe,Shirley Jones ,Earl Edwards and Ben Broyles, quickly becoming theirlead singer . He was drafted by the U.S. Army toGermany for three years, returned to Chicago in 1960, and rejoined his bandmates. Throughmusic industry contacts, the Dukays were offered arecording contract by the Chicago based Nat Records. The first single was titled "The Girl Is a Devil." In 1961, Nat Records released a song titled "Nite Owl", and the band went back to therecording studio to record once more.The Duke is born
At the time, Nat Records wanted to release the new song "Duke of Earl", but was unable to. An executive with
Vee-Jay Records , Calvin Carter, heard the song and wanted it for distribution as a song on hisrecord label , but only as a Gene Chandler record. Vee-Jay were not interested in The Dukays.Meanwhile, the previously recorded "Nite Owl" was on the charts, putting Chandler in a dilemma. He thus 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 Chandler, even though the Dukays had recorded it. The song sold a million copies in just over one month. [ [http://www.livinblues.com/bluesrooms/genechandler.asp Livinblues.com] ] "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 ", starringChubby Checker .The Duke lives on
After spending three weeks at number one on the
Billboard Magazine charts, Chandler got acape , amonocle , atop hat and acane . He simply became "The Duke of Earl" and hisconcert s drew a large crowd. Occasionally he would come out for an 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 and then forChess andBrunswick Records . He wound up recording for Chess and Brunswick 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 release from Chess. In 1964, he had a Top 20 pop hit with the Curtis Mayfield produced "Just Be True"; another Top 20 pop hit in 1965 with "Nothing Can Stop Me", another Mayfield song, and hits throughout the 1960s with the songs "What Now", "A Man's Temptation", "Bless Our Love", and "You Can't Hurt Me No More". He also had success with his cover ofJames Brown 's "There Was A Time" (taken from his 1968 Brunswickalbum of the same name); and "You Threw A Lucky Punch" - Chandler'sanswer song to theMary 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 more than 30 chart hits. Throughout his career, he has maintained a close personal friendship with Mayfield, Butler, and the other members ofThe Impressions (Sam Gooden andFred Cash ), and they could be frequently heard as background singers on his recordings. In the late 1960s he also recorded a couple of reasonably successful duets withBarbara Acklin .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 on Mercury. "Groovy Situation", was a pop and R&B success (reaching #12 and #8 respectively), his second biggest hit after "Duke Of Earl".The hits he recorded and produced earned 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 andNorman Whitfield , who were successful producers at that time, working withThe Temptations and thePhiladelphia 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 theUnited Kingdom . At that time, he was also the Executive Vice President of Chi-Sound Records, and worked withreggae star,Johnny Nash .Revival
In the late 1970s, even whilst he was placing hits on the disco chart, the nostalgia craze began. DJ
Wolfman Jack put together a traveling show of "oldies" acts, and Chandler joined them in the travels around the country.In 2002, his #1 hit recording of "Duke Of Earl" was inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame.
He still performs in Chicago, Las Vegas and elsewhere around the U.S.
Legacy
"Duke of Earl" was played in the 1988 film, "Hairspray". It was also sampled by
Cypress Hill , on the song "Hand on the Pump" on their 1991 album, "Cypress Hill". Equally, Chandler's song "Hallelujah, I Love Her So" was also sampled by Cypress Hill, on the song "Legalize It" on their 1993 album, "Black Sunday". "Groovy Situation" appeared on 2004's "".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" for their "Train of Thought" album, released in 2000.ee also
*
List of soul musicians
*List of doo-wop musicians
*List of disco artists
*List of people from Chicago
*List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (United States) Further reading
Pruter, Robert. "Chicago Soul". Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1991, ISBN 978-025206259-9
References
External links
* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:wifyxqw5ldfe~T1 Biography] at
Allmusic website
* [http://www.bluejuice.org.au/subpage8.html Gene Chandler interview]
* [http://www.tsimon.com/chandler.htm Gene Chandler fan page]
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