Gene Chandler

Get me some fine, close Fine, expensive, close They're gonna say Hey, look at that pretty boy With no place to go, yeah And that's a big shot, yeah, yeah And that's a big shot, yeah, yeah Money he's got But when she has nothing Talking about a big shot, yeah, yeah

Gene Chandler, Mr Big Shot.

We open

the show with a Motown track, here's another one.

Well anyway, it, uh, Brunswick became a popular label for soul and R&B artists.

All right, so here are some of the artists on that label: The Chi-Lites, Tyrone Davis, and Gene Chandler.

Duke of Earl, right?

Of course.

She really needed my love What a shock to receive, yeah Your letter telling me goodbye, love It broke my heart in two But girl, the light's on you I can take care of myself I'm a man, I can take care of myself I can take care of myself And without you I'd make it I'm gonna make it You build my hopes up high, yeah Then you drop me like a hot potato Guess you think I'll cry, yeah And come crawling back sooner or later You walked out of my way But I'm gonna show you, girl I can take care of myself I'm a man, I can take care of myself I take care of myself And without you I'd make it Yeah, how you played me for a clown And you bragged about, yeah, how you really shot me down Those friends are hard to face And I need no heartless praise, cause I can take care of myself All I need, I can take care

And now we come to another Chicago soul classic and a record from a man who has already made his mark on music history, Gene Chandler, and I can't take care of myself.

Gene Chandler was the voice behind the enormous 1961 hit Duke of Earl, but there was something more to the Duke than the one famous record.

By 1966, Chandler was recording some terrific soul sides for the Chicago Constellation Records, and I Can't Take Care of Myself was written by the great Van McCoy, produced by Carl Davis and arranged by Sonny Sanders.

And what a combination that was.

That's a program where people learn how to craft DJ sets and tell stories between the songs they share.

The song he shared after the pigeon story, Rainbow 65 by Gene Chandler.

Rest in pigeon land, Iggy.

That's all for this week's episode of Uncuffed, a production of KALW Public Media.

As my butterfly brain flies in a different direction, my favorite singers, it's the people who recorded the song Duke of Earl, the first version.

A band called the Duke A's and their lead singer, Gene Chandler.

The song Duke of Earl.

Duke, Duke, Duke, Duke of Earl.

Good stuff.

It's been my doo-wop summer.

And Gene Chandler's vocals on Duke of Earl are exquisite.

I've also been enjoying key texts like Coney Island Baby by The Excellence and I Wonder Why by Dion and the Belmonts.

And that's a big shot again.

Gene Chandler and

it's Mr Big Shots

don't forget by the way if you want a track playing on the show all you need to do is email me studio at soulfortheweekend.co.uk or find me on FaceGeek and send me a message that way and if we can find it if we've got it we will play it for you going to 2023 I think this is great Sacred Souls