S.O.D. "Duke of Earl" by Gene Chandler

   10/9/15

 Named by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll, it may have never come about if Chandler had not been working with Earl Edwards.  They were in a vocal group together called the Dukays and used "Do do do" many times to warm up.  At the time Eugene Dixon had not yet changed his name to Gene Chandler.  One day during practice, Chandler changed the "Do" to "Du" and added Earl's name, hence "Du du du Duke of Earl". 

     After the song was written by Chandler, Edwards and songwriting partner Bernice Williams, it was pitched to the record company who turned it down and instead recorded the tune "Nite Owl", also written by Williams.  It really worked out for Chandler, releasing it instead as a solo artist and  proving to be his best work, shooting to the top of the R&B and Pop charts and holding a position somewhere on the Pop chart for 15 weeks.

     Many cover versions have been released including one by Sha Na Na who performed it at Woodstock.  The Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Beach Boys and Frank Zappa also did versions with Zappa's being a parody entitled "Duke of Prunes".  On the Tonight Show, host Jimmy Fallon alongside Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant performed the song together in September of 2014.