Duke of Earl



"Duke of Earl" is a 1962 US number-one song, originally by Gene Chandler. It is the best known of Chandler's songs, and he subsequently dubbed himself "The Duke of Earl". The song was penned by Chandler, Bernice Williams, and Earl Edwards. This song was a 2002 inductee into the Grammy Hall of Fame. It has also been selected by The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.

Original version by Gene Chandler
The song originated from warm-up exercises by the Dukays, a vocal group that included Chandler (under his original name, Eugene Dixon) and Earl Edwards and that had already had some success on the R&B chart. The group would regularly warm up by singing "Do do do do..." in different keys. On one occasion, Dixon changed the syllables he was singing to include Earl's name, and the chant gradually became the nonsense words "Du..du..du..Duke of Earl". The pair worked on the song with regular songwriter and mentor Bernice Williams, and then recorded it with the other members of the Dukays. However, the group's record company preferred to release another song, "Nite Owl", leaving Dixon with the offer of releasing it as a solo artist. Dixon changed his name to Gene Chandler (a surname taken from that of the actor Jeff Chandler), and the song was released at the end of 1961, quickly rising to become number one on both the pop and R&B charts. "Duke of Earl" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on January 13, 1962, and held the number-one spot for three weeks. It was on the Hot 100 for a total of 15 weeks. Musicians on the record included Floyd Morris on piano, Lefty Bates, Phil Upchurch and Kermit Chandler on guitar, Al Duncan on drums, and Cliff Davis and John Board on sax.

Cover versions
The Pearlettes, a girl group, released a cover version of the song (as "Duchess of Earl") in 1962, reaching #96 on the Billboard chart. Bobbie Smith and the Dream Girls also released an "answer song" titled "Duchess of Earl" in early 1962; however, the two songs are different in music and lyrics.

Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders released a cover version in 1964.

Sha Na Na, a rock and roll revival band, performed "Duke of Earl" live at the Woodstock Festival in 1969, and again on their 1970s TV variety show.

Darts covered the song as a single released in 1973.

Cornell Campbell released a reggae version as a single in the UK in 1975, on the Trojan Records label.

Another cover was recorded by the UK-based doo-wop outfit Darts in 1979. It reached #6 in the UK Singles Chart.

In 1982, the a cappella group The Nylons, included a version on their debut self-titled album. In 1983, Youth Brigade performed "Duke of Earl" on their album Sound & Fury. New Edition released a version in 1986.

In 1988, Australian harmony group "Dukes of Earlwood featuring Armondo Hurley" reached #12 on the Australian charts with a cover of "Duke of Earl". The success of the song came after the popularity of a TV commercial for Decoré Shampoo which used an adaptation of "Duke of Earl" as its jingle (viz. "De-de-de Decoré, de-de Decoré, de-de Decoré..." etc.).

The song was covered by John Goodman in the 1991 comedy film King Ralph.

Cypress Hill sampled "Duke of Earl" into one of their own hit songs, "Hand on the Pump", on their 1991 self-titled album.

Joey Ramone recorded a version backed by the Mystics.

In September 2014, the song was performed on The Tonight Show by host Jimmy Fallon and Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant. The song has also been sung by The Four Tops, The Barron Knights, and the Van-Dells.

Little Feat, The Beach Boys, Orleans, and Red Hot Chili Peppers have also played their version of the song whilst on tour. Frank Zappa and the Mothers parody the song as "Duke of Prunes" on the album Absolutely Free.