Today we
tackle a question for the ages: How many times is the word “duke” chanted or
sung in Gene Chandler’s 1962 hit record “Duke of Earl”? Answers.com had
the number (or a good guess): 132 times, according to Chicago disc jockey Dick
Biondi. That’s in a song that lasts 2 minutes, 15 seconds. Further research
revealed these two legends of music and radio are still around.
Gene is 78 and
has been active as a singer, producer and record company executive since 1957.
He never had a #1 record after “Duke of Earl,” but reached #12 on the Billboard
chart in 1970 with “Groovy Situation.”
Dick is 83 and
still does Saturday and Sunday mornings on Chicago oldies station WLS-FM. Known
for his high-energy presentation (code for “screamer”), he gained national
prominence when that station’s AM side ditched its “Prairie Farmer” identity
for Top 40 in 1960.
Lots of DJs from that
era were well-traveled, but Dick’s antics made him a legend before he turned
30. Never impressed by station managers, and he once described one’s car on the
air and asked listeners to throw rocks at it. That happened, and he was fired
the next day (one of 23 firings he claims).
Hoping to
semi-retire, Dick applied for a job at a station in North Myrtle Beach, South
Carolina, in 1973. The manager didn’t realize who he was when he agreed to do
mornings for a piddling salary. That led to a decade of playing golf almost
every afternoon. In the pre-Internet days, a TV reporter from Chicago tracked
him down for a “where are they now?” story, which led to decades of big money
in Chicago.
As you listen to
“Duke of Earl,” consider how many times Dick has played it on the radio.
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