This bizarre approach to a declaration of love may well be the king of doo-wop songs ... for me to formulate a deep analysis of it would be pretty silly. But it is a true early 60's classic and a major oldie of the rock and roll era, having been inducted, along with its creator, Gene Chandler, into the Grammy Hall of Fame. What started as nonsense lyrics became an anthem of doo-wop, and even the late Frank Zappa could not resist lampooning the song in the late 60's with his song "Duke Of Prunes" ... Zappa after all got his start writing and performing doo-wop in the early 60's. Written and recorded in 1961 and released in January 1962, "Duke of Earl" reached #1 on February 3, 1962, holding the number 1 spot for three weeks on Billboard and for five weeks on Cash Box. So, tongue-in-cheek into doo-wop heaven we go on my latest music video with Gene Chandler's "Duke of Earl" ... and his Duchess of Earl!

Be the first to comment