1962 - Duke Of Earl / Kissin' In The Kitchen (Vee-Jay 416)
1962 - Walk On With The Duke / London Town (Vee-Jay 440)
1962 - Daddy's Home / The Big Lie (Vee-Jay 450)
1962 - I'll Follow You / You Left Me (Vee-Jay 455)
Biography :
Gene Chandler was born Eugene Drake Dixon in Chicago, Illinois, on
July 6, 1937. He attended Englewood High School on Chicago's south
side.[1] He began performing during the early 1950s with the band The
Gaytones. In 1957, he joined The Dukays, with James Lowe, Shirley Jones,
Earl Edwards and Ben Broyles (the unforgettable bass on "Duke of Earl) ,
soon becoming their lead singer. After his draft into the U.S. Army he
returned to Chicago in 1960 and rejoined the Dukays.
The Dukays were offered a recording contract by Nat Records and
recorded a single with producers Carl Davis and Bill "Bunky" Sheppard,
"The Girl Is a Devil" (1961). "The Girl Is a Devil," sold locally and
did a little business outside of Chicago in 1961. This was followed with
a session in August 1961 that resulted in four sides, most notably
"Nite Owl" and "Duke of Earl". Nat Records chose to release "Nite Owl"
and it became a sizeable R&B success at the end of 1961.
They were showstoppers live: everything about them was exciting,
especially Shirley Jones (Dixon's cousin), who stepped and blew notes
right along with the fellows, almost a funky edition of The Platters. In
December of 1961, Nat released their third single, "The Duke of Earl"
b/w "Kissin' in the Kitchen," and all hell broke loose. Meanwhile,
Davis and Sheppard shopped the "Duke of Earl" recording to Vee-Jay
Records company, which released it in 1962 by Dixon as a solo artist
with the name "Gene Chandler"(he adopted the surname from actor Jeff
Chandler and people always shortened his first name anyway). The Dukays
felt slighted, abused, and mistreated. Vee Jay didn't re-record the
song, but simply slapped their label on new pressings on the Nat
acetate.
1962 - Charles Davis , Earl Edwards, James Lowe & Margaret "Cookie" Stone
As
appeasement, Vee Jay signed the group to a separate deal and reissued
their second single "Nite Owl." Charles Davis (aka Nolan Chance)
replaced Chandler and Margaret "Cookie" Stone took over for Shirley
Jones, who quit. Vee Jay issued three singles by The Dukays, two in 1962
and one in 1963, but none of them clicked. They appeared uncredited on a
few of Chandler's solos, before he switched to Constellation Records,
the label that made him an R&B icon.
1964 - Claude McRae, James Lowe, Earl Edwards & Richard Dixon
Nearly
two years passed before The Dukays surfaced in November 1964 on the
Jerry-O label with "The Jerk." The new group featured Claude McRae
(lead), Richard Dixon, Earl Edwards, and James Lowe. In 1965, Jerry-O,
owned by Jerry J. Murray, issued the final Dukays single,
"Mellow-Fezneckey" b/w "Sho-Nuf M.F." (a scandalous title for the
times); neither did much business and they disbanded. Nolan Chance
recorded solo for Constellation and other labels, while Chandler carved a
stellar solo career.
