Gene Chandler - Biography
Originally Gene Chandler was known for his million-selling hit, "Duke Of Earl." Although he’s had more than thirty chart hits, establishing him as a leading exponents of the 1960s Chicago soul scene, it is still his best known song.
Eugene Dixon was born July 6, 1937, in Chicago, Illinois. He attended Englewood Technical Prep Academy High School on Chicago's south side. He began performing in the early 1950s with The Gaytones. In 1957 he joined The Dukays, a doo-wop act that also included James Lowe, Shirley Jones, Earl Edwards and Ben Broyles. After being drafted into the army, he returned to The Dukays in 1960. They were discovered by Bernice Williams, who became their manager and secured an audition at Nat Records. At their first recording session they cut, “The Girl is Evil,” in 1961. Their second single, “Nite Owl” charted. At the time, as a member of The Dukays, he was credited as “Gene Dixon.”
Although The Dukays recorded “Duke of Earl” as a group, VeeJay’s A&R man, Calvin Carter, was only interested in Dixon. The song was released on VeeJay credited solely to Chandler. It proved to be his big break, selling over a million copies in just over a month and spending three weeks at number one in 1962. Dixon went solo, choosing the name “Gene Chandler” — a reference to actor Jeff Chandler. He appeared in the film, Don’t Knock the Twist, in his duke outfit, wearing a cape, monocle and top hat. His debut was also called The Duke of Earl (1963 Vee-Jay).
Chandler’s next big hit was 1964’s “Just be True,” produced by Curtis Mayfield. Man's Temptation (1964 VeeJay) followed. He signed with Bill "Bunky" Sheppard's Constellation the same year and appeared on Soul Hootenanny before releasing Just Be True (1964 Constellation), Bless Our Love (1964 Constellation) and What Now (1964 Constellation). In 1965, Mayfield’s composition, "Nothing Can Stop Me" reached the Top 20. Live on Stage in ‘65 (1965 Constellation) was driven by the massive hit, “Rainbow 65.” By then, Chandler’s string of Chicago soul hits helped him move beyond his days as “The Duke.” After I'm Just a Fool for You (1966 Constellation), Constellation went out of business.
Chandler’s next releases were issued by Brunswick and Checker. The prolific period saw the release of I Fooled You This Time (1966 Checker), Girl Don't Care (1967 Brunswick), To Be a Lover (1967 Checker), There Goes The Lover (1967 Brunswick) and The Girl Don't Care (1967 Brunswick) and There Was a Time! (1968 Brunswick) and The Two Sides of Gene Chandler (1969 Brunswick). None were sizable hits, however, and Chandler turned his attention to production and arrangement of other acts. As the president of Bamboo Records, he released Mel and Tim’s “Backfield in Motion” in 1969, which was the label’s biggest hit.
Despite focusing on the business end of music, Chandler didn’t retire. He signed with Mercury who released The Gene Chandler Situation (1970) and Call it Love (1970). The track “Groovy Situation” reached twelve and was his biggest hit since “Duke of Earl.” He released an album or Jerry Butler as Gene and Jerry, One & One (Mercury). He appeared with Curtis Mayfield & The Impressions on the live album Curtis in Chicago (1973). In 1974, he appeared on Arthur Louis's album Knocking on Heaven's Door.
In the late 1978, Chandler had a disco-flavored hit with “Get Down” off Get Down (1979 Chi-Sound). It was followed by When you’re #1 (1979-Chi-Sound) and, in turn, Rainbow 80 (1980 Chi-Sound) which produced the hit, “Does She Have a Friend?” After Here's to Love (1981 20th Century), Chandler pretty much retired from recording, although he performs in Chicago and Las Vegas to this day.
