Герцог Эрл: История одной песни

1962 single by Gene Chandler

"Duke of Earl" is a 1962 US number one song, originally recorded by Gene Chandler. It is the best known of Chandler's songs, and he subsequently dubbed himself "The Duke of Earl". The song was written 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.

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 at Universal Recording Corporation in Chicago

The Pearlettes, a girl group, released a cover version of the song (as "Duchess of Earl") in 1962, reaching number 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. Another cover was recorded by the UK based doo wop outfit Darts in 1979. It reached number 6 in the UK Singles Chart. In 1988, Australian harmony group "Dukes of Earlwood featuring Armondo Hurley" reached number 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.