Duke of Earl
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| “Duke of Earl” | ||
|---|---|---|
| Single by Gene Chandler | ||
| Released | January 13, 1962 | |
| Recorded | 1960 | |
| Label | Vee-Jay Records | |
| Writer(s) | Gene Chandler, Earl Edwards, Bernie Williams | |
"Duke of Earl" is a 1962 #1 hit song, originally by Gene Chandler. It is the best known of Chandler's songs, and he subsequently dubbed himself 'The Duke of Earl'.
"Duke of Earl" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on January 13, 1962, and held the #1 spot for three weeks. It was on the Hot 100 for a total of 15 weeks.
The word "Duke" is mentioned exactly 35 times during the song.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Covers
Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders released a cover version in 1964. Another cover was recorded by the UK based doo-wop outfit Darts in 1979. It reached #6 in the UK Singles Chart.
The Beach Boys and Red Hot Chili Peppers have also played their version of the song whilst on tour. Cypress Hill sampled "Duke of Earl" into one of their own hit songs, "Hand on the Pump", on their 1991 self-titled album.
The song has also been sung by The Nylons and The Four Tops.
[edit] Pop culture references
In his song "Keeping The Faith", Billy Joel sings "I thought I was the Duke of Earl / When I made it with a red-haired girl in the Chevrolet".
In the Hall & Oates' song "Diddy Doo Wopp (I Hear the Voices)" from the album Voices, Daryl Hall sings, "Charlie liked the Beatles / Sam, he liked "Rich Girl" / I'm still hung up on the Duke of Earl".
In the film, Carry on Behind, Ernie (played by Jack Douglas) can be seen wearing a Duke of Earl T-shirt.
In the film The Man with Two Brains, a prostitute (Randi Brooks) sings the song (described it as her "favorite") revealing her unexpectedly unpleasant and squeaky voice (she pronounces it "Dook, Dook, Dook, Dook of Oil...").
In the film King Ralph the titular character played by John Goodman sings the song as the end credits roll.
The song was performed by the rock and roll comedy group Sha Na Na as part of their set at Woodstock Festival in 1969.
In the Magnum P.I. episode "Going Home", Magnum and a friend are seen singing a drunken a cappella of the song.
The 'Duke of Earl' is mentioned in the Men Without Hats song "Pop Goes The World".
Datamation humor columnist Chris Miksanek titled his "Over the Edge" online weblinks companion "The Duke of URL" which ran from 1998 until 2001.
In the Don Henley song "They're Not Here, They're Not Coming", he sings "No place for sentiment, no room for romance" / "Bring back the Duke of Earl".
In the episode "Kelly Does Hollywood" of the show Married... With Children, Al Bundy attempts to get a cameo on Kelly's show by performing a dramatic reading of the song.
In the film Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, when Bill and Ted travel to medieval England, Bill introduces himself to the king as the Duke of Earl.
A reference to this song is mentioned in an episode of My Name is Earl entitled "Burn Victim".
In his song "Window On The World", John Hiatt sings "The Queen of Sheba meets the Duke of Earl".
In The Dead Milkmen song "Punk Rock Girl", her dad is referred to as the Duke of Earl (as well as the Vice President).
| Preceded by "Peppermint Twist - Part I" by Joey Dee and the Starliters |
Billboard Hot 100 number one single February 17, 1962 |
Succeeded by "Hey! Baby" by Bruce Channel |
[edit] References
- ^ Duke Of Earl lyrics. Lyric Wiki. Retrieved on 2008-03-05.
