Gene Chandler: The Leading Light Of Soul

The 1962 soul ballad Duke of Earl is what comes to mind first when talking about Gene Chandler, who was regarded by soul fans to be one of the leading lights of the 60’s soul scene in Chicago.

Gene Chandler was born Eugene Dixon on July 6,1937 in Chicago. Discovered by artist manager Bernice Williams, Chandler started out as part of the Dukays, a doo wop quintet. As Eugene Dixon, he fronted the band for almost 3 years. The Dukays tasted minor success in 1962 when their track Night Owl entered the Billboard Top 100. Duke of Earl too was a Dukays number which on its release was credited to a soloist called the Duke.

Duke of Earl was a huge hit, topping the pop and R&B charts in 1962. By the end of that year it had sold over a million records. Dixon was convinced by the label to take on the persona of the Duke and rechristen himself Gene Chandler. Calling himself the Duke, Chandler actually began living the part, dressing like a natty gentleman and wearing a monocle.

In 1962, Chandler moved to Constellation Records, where he met singer songwriter Curtis Mayfield of the Impressions. Mayfield, together with producer Carl Davis, was to be responsible for much of Chandler’s material in the years to come. With Mayfield’s help Chandler released several memorable tracks including Rainbow ( 1963), Just Be True(1964) and Nothing Can Stop Me (1965). In fact Rainbow, which was one of Chandlers’ signature tracks, was recorded three times during his career for three different labels. There was a marked decline in Chandler’s success after Mayfield stopped writing for him

At this time, Chandler gradually started turning towards production. He bought Bamboo Records in 1969 and launched Mr. Chand Records the same year, though this proved to be short lived. He also produced Mel & Tim’s Backfield In Motion, which went on to become a million selling crossover hit and reached No. 10 on the pop charts.

Between 1970 and 1972, Chandler released a number of singles like Groovy Situation with the Mercury label. You Just Can’t Win (by Making The Same Mistake), his duet with Jerry Butler in 1971 was noteworthy and led to One &One, an album of Chandler/Butler duets.

Chandler’s career was interrupted in 1976 when he was convicted of a drug infraction and had to serve four months in jail. After his release, he continued his association as a producer with A&M Records. In 1979, he became the executive vice president of Chi-Sound, a label launched by Eugene Record of the Chi-lites. Here, he revived his singing career with a series of disco tracks, which were produced by his long time associate Davis. With Get Down Chandler was back in the US Top 100 in 1978. In 1985 he released a full length album Your Love Looks Good To Me.

Early in the millennium, Chandler together with soul music contemporaries, Jerry Butler, Ben E King and Lloyd Price undertook a successful tour entitled The 4 kings of Rhythm and Blues.

Occasionally entering the Top Twenty charts, Chandler was respected by R&B fans for his soulful ballads and mid-tempo tracks. During the course of his career, he recorded more that 36 singles, though none attained the popularity of his first hit Duke of Earl.

TJ Grooves - Soul Music TV & Rare Soul Grooves.com