45 RPMs 98: Gene Chandler & the Dukays ~ Duke of Earl

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The Dukays - ca 1964
Left to right: Claude McCrae, James Lowe, Earl Edwards & Richard Dixon

 

 

 

On Monday, December 4, 1961, Gene Chandler (Eugene Dixon) released his phenomenal hit, Duke of Earl, the best known of his songs. He subsequently dubbed himself "The Duke of Earl". The song was written by Chandler, Bernice Williams, and Earl Edwards.      

            

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 "Du..du..du..Duke of Earl".             

 

The Dukays' record label chose instead to release Nite Owl, offering Dixon the option of releasing Duke of Earl 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 

 

The meaning of the Duke of Earl lyrics is that the singer is a confident, charismatic, and smooth character who believes nothing can stop him. The title "Duke of Earl" was chosen because it was inspired by a band member named Earl.    

 

The title was played up on the sleeve accompanying the record, with Chandler dressed up in fancy clothes and sporting a monocle on his face in the manner of a British peer, as the title and song implied he was.        

 

 

 

Gene Chandler ~ Duke of Earl 

 45 RPM record cover

 

          

Musicians on the record included Floyd Morris on piano, Lefty Bates, Phil Upchurch (who died last month) and Kermit Chandler (the nephew of Chris Chandler) on guitar, Al Duncan on drums, and Cliff Davis and John Board on sax.           

 

During his 3-album stint with Brunswick Records, which lasted from 1967 to 1969, Chandler racked up seven Top 40 R&B singles, including the Top 5 R&B smash Nothing Can Stop Me (which was also a Top 20 Pop single), The Girl Don’t Care and the Barbara Acklin duet From The Teacher To The Preacher, the latter two breaking into the R&B Top 20. His tenure with Brunswick may have been brief but he made a huge impact during that time.        

 

 

Duke of Earl lyrics 

 

Duke, Duke, Duke, Duke of Earl
Duke, Duke, Duke of Earl
Duke, Duke, Duke of Earl
Duke, Duke, Duke of Earl

Duke, Duke, Duke of Earl
Duke, Duke, Duke of Earl
Duke, Duke, Duke of Earl
Duke, Duke, Duke of Earl

As I walk through this world
Nothing can stop the Duke of Earl
And-a you, you are my girl
And no one can hurt you, oh no

Yes-a, I, oh I'm gonna love you, oh oh
Come on let me hold you darlin'
'Cause I'm the Duke of Earl
So hey yea yea yeah

And when I hold you
You'll be my Duchess, Duchess of Earl
We'll walk through my dukedom
And a paradise we will share

Yes-a, I, oh I'm gonna love you, oh oh
Nothing can stop me now
'Cause I'm the Duke of Earl
So hey yeah yeah yeah

Well, I, oh I'm gonna love you, oh oh
Nothing can stop me now
'Cause I'm the Duke of Earl
So hey yeah yeah yeah

Songwriters: Bernice Williams / Earl Edwards / Eugene Dixon
 

         

       

Tracklist:

Side 1:

A - Duke Of Earl, written by Williams*, Edwards*, Dixon* - 2:22

Side 2:

B - Kissin' In The Kitchen, written by B. Williams* - 2:15

Companies, etc.

    Published By – Conrad
    Published By – Karlan

 Credits:

 

      Producer – Bill Sheppard

 

Barcode and Other Identifiers        

        

    Matrix / Runout (Label side A): 61-2172
    Matrix / Runout (Label side B): 61-2173
    Rights Society: BMI

 

Gene Chandler – Duke Of Earl / Kissin' In The Kitchen
Label: Vee Jay Records – VJ 416
Format: Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1961
Genre: Rock, Funk / Soul
Style: Doo Wop        

        

        

        

Viewfinder links:       

 

Gene Chandler    

Jeff Chandler 

Earl Edwards        

Bernice Williams         
     
Net links:       

         

Chicago Reader ~ Music People: nothing has stopped the Duke of Earl     

Quora ~ What does "Duke of Earl" refer to, why do black people often use this term?         

Soul Tracks ~ Chris Chandler         
     
YouTube links:      
        
Gene Chandler ~  

           Duke of Earl         

           Duke of Earl (live)        

           Kissin' In The Kitchen

      
        
         

        

        

Styrous® ~ Thursday, December 4, 2025 

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45 RPMs 65: Sammy Davis Jr. – Six Bridges To Cross & George Nader

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Sammy Davis Jr. ~ Six Bridges To Cross

45 RPM record 

photo by Styrous®

Today is the birthday of George Nader who was an American actor and writer. He appeared in a variety of films from 1950 to 1974, including Sins of Jezebel (1953), Congo Crossing (1956), and The Female Animal (1958). During this period, he also did episodic television and starred in several series, including NBC's The Man and the Challenge (1959–60). In the 1960s he made several films in Germany, playing FBI agent Jerry Cotton. He is remembered for his first starring role, in the low-budget black-and-white 3D Sci-Fi film, Robot Monster (1953), known as "one of the worst films ever made".       

 

 

Robot Monster poster
 

 

I remember seeing Robot Monster and was wowed by the 3D effects but even though I was only thirteen, I realized the acting of the cast, including Nader, was pretty sketchy and the special effects and costume of the "Monster" was really cheesy, so, it's in pretty stiff competition with Plan 9 from Outer Space, which was directed by Ed Wood and starred Bela Lugosi, for the number one spot.             

 

 

Plan 9 from Outer Space poster
 

          

The film, Six Bridges To Cross is a 1955 American film noir crime film directed by Joseph Pevney and starring Tony Curtis as Jerry Florea, George Nader and Julie Adams. It is based on the famous 1950 Great Brink's Robbery of Boston, Massachusetts in which the thieves made off with roughly $2.5 million.    

 

 

Six Bridges To Cross poster
 

 

It was a pretty good film (link to plot below) with decent writing and acting by the cast, which included Sal Mineo as Jerry Florea as a boy in his first film role; he would appear in the film classic, Rebel Without a Cause, later that same year. Both Tony Curtis and Clint Eastwood made screen tests for the major male role; it was Eastwood's first test but Curtis got the part.          

 

 

Six Bridges To Cross - 1955 

Tony Curtis & George Nader

film still

 

 

    

Sammy Davis Jr. ~ Six Bridges To Cross

45 RPM record sleeve

photo by Styrous®

The title song, which is sung by Sammy Davis Jr. is a ballad in the fifties tradition and Davis does a really nice job on it with his typical lyric phrasing. Dinah Washington did a cover of the song in 1961; hers is a bit slower and more lush but her staccato phrasing makes it her very own (links below). The music was written by Henry Mancini and actor Jeff Chandler wrote the lyrics. Chandler had been considered for the main role but turned it down.     

Sammy Davis Jr. ~ Six Bridges To Cross

45 RPM record

photo by Styrous®

Sammy Davis Jr. ~ All of You 

45 RPM record sleeve

photo by Styrous®

Sammy Davis Jr. ~ All of You 

45 RPM record sleeve

photo by Styrous®

 

    
 

        

Tracklist:

Side 1:

A - Six Bridges To Cross, written by Henry Mancini, Jeff Chandler (5) - 2:59

Side 2:

B - All Of You, written by Cole Porter - 2:39

Companies, etc.

    Manufactured By – Decca Records, Inc.

Notes:

Variant labels include, but not limited to, label matrices

A Side: From the Universal-International Pictures "Six Bridges To Cross"
B Side: From the Musical Production "Silk Stockings"

Barcode and Other Identifiers        

        

    Matrix / Runout (Side A Runout): 45 8065 5 3
    Matrix / Runout (Side B Runout): 45 8066 5 3
    Matrix / Runout (Center label, side A): 8065
    Matrix / Runout (Center label, side B): 8066

 

Sammy Davis Jr. – Six Bridges To Cross / All Of You
Label: Decca – 9-29402
Format: Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1955
Genre: Jazz, Stage & Screen
Style: Theme     

      

      

      

  

Viewfinder links:       

         

Jeff Chandler           

Tony Curtis        

Sammy Davis Jr,          

Clint Eastwood        

Bela Lugosi        

Sal Mineo          
George Nader         

Cole Porter        

Ed Wood       
     
Net links:       

         

Cast        

Plot        
     
YouTube links:      
         

Sammy Davis Jr. ~         

      All of You         

      Six Bridges To Cross        

Joseph Pevney               
Dinah Washington ~ Six Bridges To Cross                

        
        
        

        

        

Styrous® ~ Tuesday, October 19, 2021  

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Jeff Chandler articles/mentions

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mentions:    
Gene Chandler & the Dukays ~ Duke of Earl   
Sammy Davis Jr. – Six Bridges To Cross   
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

Jeff Chandler - late 1940's

photographer unknown

     

     

     

      

     

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