CHANDLER, GENE - THE DUKE OF EARL 

 

 

 

Charly presents "The Duke Of Earl" in glorious stereo on vinyl for the first time since its original release. Gene Chandler is best-remembered for his 1962 novelty Doo Wop No.1 "Duke Of Earl", 1970's "Groovy Situation", and his later Disco hit "Get Down" (US R&B No.3 / UK No.11) in 1978. The singer born Eugene Dixon cut his teeth performing as a teen on Chicago's south side in the early 50s with The Gaytones vocal group before joining the R&B quintet The Dukays in 1957. With Dixon singing lead, the group recorded four sides for Nat Records in 1961 of which "Duke Of Earl" was one but the label declined to release it, opting instead for "Nite Owl" which became a sizeable R&B hit later that year. Producers Carl Davis and Bill 'Bunky' Sheppard then shopped "Duke Of EWarl" around eventually licensing the track to Vee-Jay who decided to release it by Dixon as a solo singer. Chandler's only Vee-Jay long-player (and one of the very few to chart for the label), the stereo edition of The Duke Of Earl has long been a sought after Rock'n'Roll rarity owing to the small quantity sold at the time. Subsequent Vee-Jay reissues may have purported to be in "Stereophonic" sound but were in truth mono pressings packaged as stereo. 

 

TRACKLISTING:  01. DUKE OF EARL 02. STAND BY ME 03. FESTIVAL OF LOVE 04. DADDY'S HOME 05. I WAKE UP CRYING 06. TURN ON YOUR LOVE LIGHT 07. NITE OWL 08. I'LL FOLLOW YOU 09. BIG LIE 10. KISSIN' IN THE KITCHEN 11. SO MANY WAYS 12. LONELY ISLAND