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Gene Chandler

 

American singer, songwriter, talent scout, music producer and record label executive Eugene Drake Dixon, known as “Gene Chandler” or “The Duke of Earl” was born on July 6, 1937 and is nicknamed “The Duke of Earl” or simply “The Duke”.

He began performing in the 1950s with a group called The Gaytones before joining The Dukays. The recording he became famous for, “Duke of Earl”, is actually by The Dukays but became recredited as being by Gene Chandler.

Gene is a Grammy Hall Of Fame inductee and a winner of both the National Association of Television and Radio Announcers’ (NATRA) “Producer of the Year” Award and the Rhythm and Blues Foundation’s Pioneer Award.

He is one of the few artistes to have enjoyed success spanning the doo-wop, rhythm and blues, soul, and disco musical eras, with some 40 Pop and R&B chart hits between 1961 and 1986. On August 24, 2014, Chandler was inducted into the Official Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame. In 2016 a street in Chicago was named after him.  See The Street on Google Street View

In 1968 he formed two record companies, Mr Chand and Bamboo.

Image: Jazz Music Archive

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