Sir Duke
| "Sir Duke" | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Stevie Wonder | ||||||||||
| from the album Songs in the Key of Life | ||||||||||
| B-side | "He's Misstra Know-It-All" | |||||||||
| Released | March 22, 1977 | |||||||||
| Format | 7" | |||||||||
| Genre | Funk, R&B | |||||||||
| Length | 3:54 | |||||||||
| Label | Tamla | |||||||||
| Writer(s) | Stevie Wonder | |||||||||
| Producer(s) | Stevie Wonder | |||||||||
| Certification | Silver (BPI) | |||||||||
| Stevie Wonder singles chronology | ||||||||||
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"Sir Duke" is a song composed and performed by Stevie Wonder, from his 1976 album Songs in the Key of Life. Released as a single in 1977, the track topped the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and Black Singles charts,[1] and reached number two in the UK Singles Chart, his joint biggest hit there at the time. Billboard ranked it as the No. 18 song of 1977.
The song was written in tribute to Duke Ellington, the influential jazz legend who had died in 1974. The lyrics also refer to Count Basie, Glenn Miller, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald.
Wonder re-recorded the song for the 1995 live album Natural Wonder.
Background
Wonder wrote the song as a tribute to Duke Ellington, a bandleader and jazz pianist who had an influence on him as a musician. Wonder had already experienced the death of two of his idols (Dinah Washington and Wes Montgomery) after attempting to collaborate with them.
After Ellington died in 1974, Wonder wanted to write a song acknowledging musicians he felt were important. He later said, "I knew the title from the beginning but wanted it to be about the musicians who did something for us. So soon they are forgotten. I wanted to show my appreciation." Later tributes included "Master Blaster" in 1980 (dedicated to Bob Marley) and "Happy Birthday", which pleaded for commemoration of Martin Luther King, Jr. on his birthday.
Wonder pays tribute to "some of music's pioneers" in the song: "There's Basie, Miller, Satchmo, and the king of all, Sir Duke / And with a voice like Ella's ringing out / There's no way the band can lose".
Personnel
- Produced, written, arranged and composed by Stevie Wonder
- Vocals and all other instruments by Stevie Wonder
- Trumpets by Raymond Maldonado and Steve Madaio
- Drums by Raymond Pounds
- Bass by Nathan Watts
- Lead guitar by Mike Sembello
- Rhythm guitar by Ben Bridges
- Alto saxophone by Hank Redd
- Tenor saxophone by Trevor Lawrence
Chart performance
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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| Preceded by "When I Need You" by Leo Sayer |
Billboard Hot 100 number-one single May 21 – June 4, 1977 (three weeks) |
Succeeded by "I'm Your Boogie Man" by KC and the Sunshine Band |
| Preceded by "Whodunit" by Tavares |
Billboard Hot Soul Singles number-one single May 28, 1977 (one week) |
Succeeded by "Got to Give It Up (Part 1)" by Marvin Gaye |
References
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 636.
- ↑ "Stevie Wonder – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Stevie Wonder.
- ↑ "Stevie Wonder – Chart history" Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for Stevie Wonder.
- ↑ "Stevie Wonder: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company.
- ↑ "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- ↑ "Top 100 Hits of 1977/Top 100 Songs of 1977". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- ↑ Billboard. Books.google.com. 1977-12-24. p. Front cover. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
