Chandler attended Englewood High School (later known as Englewood Technical Prep Academy) on Chicago's south side. He began performing in the early 1950s with The Gaytones. In 1957 he joined a doo-wop group called The Dukays with James Lowe, Shirley Jones, Earl Edwards and Ben Broyles, quickly becoming their lead singer. He was drafted by the U.S. Army to Germany for three years, returned to Chicago in 1960, and rejoined his bandmates. Through music industry contacts, the Dukays were offered a recording contract by the Chicago based Nat Records. The first single was titled "The Girl Is a Devil." In 1961, Nat Records released a song titled "Nite Owl", and the band went back to the recording studio to record once more.
The Duke is born
At the time, Nat Records wanted to release the new song "Duke of Earl", but was unable to. An executive with Vee-Jay Records, Calvin Carter, heard the song and wanted it for distribution as a song on his record label, but only as a Gene Chandler record. Vee-Jay were not interested in The Dukays.
Meanwhile, the previously recorded "Nite Owl" was on the charts, putting Chandler in a dilemma. He thus recorded with The Dukays under the name 'Gene Dixon' and recorded solo as 'Gene Chandler'.
When VeeJay was finally able to release "Duke of Earl", it sent it out as by Chandler, even though the Dukays had recorded it. The song sold a million copies in just over one month."The Duke" was born. Chandler can be seen in the full 'Duke' outfit singing "The Duke of Earl" in the 1962 movie, Don't Knock the Twist, starring Chubby Checker.
The Duke lives on
After spending three weeks at number one on the Billboard Magazine charts, Chandler got a cape, a monocle, a top hat and a cane. He simply became "The Duke of Earl" and his concerts drew a large crowd. Occasionally he would come out for an encore, usually "Rainbow." "Rainbow" was one of Chandler's collaborations with Curtis Mayfield, and the only song Chandler has ever recorded three times. Each time the song has been re-recorded, it became a hit all over again.
Chandler left Vee Jay and recorded for Constellation Records and then for Chess and Brunswick Records. He wound up recording for Chess and Brunswick at the same time. This left the record labels with having to work out a compromise. It was decided that the companies would alternate Chandler's releases, a new one from Brunswick, followed by a release from Chess. In 1964, he had a Top 20 pop hit with the Curtis Mayfield produced "Just Be True"; another Top 20 pop hit in 1965 with "Nothing Can Stop Me", another Mayfield song, and hits throughout the 1960s with the songs "What Now", "A Man's Temptation", "Bless Our Love", and "You Can't Hurt Me No More". He also had success with his cover of James Brown's "There Was A Time" (taken from his 1968 Brunswick album of the same name); and "You Threw A Lucky Punch" - Chandler's answer song to the Mary Wells' Motown hit "You Beat Me To The Punch". Almost all of these songs were Top 5 R&B hits. To date, Chandler has had more than 30 chart hits. Throughout his career, he has maintained a close personal friendship with Mayfield, Butler, and the other members of The Impressions (Sam Gooden and Fred Cash), and they could be frequently heard as background singers on his recordings. In the late 1960s he also recorded a couple of reasonably successful duets with Barbara Acklin.
In 1970, Chandler teamed with Butler for the album Gene and Jerry: One on One on the Mercury label . He also guest starred with Mayfield, Butler and the group on the live album: Curtis in Chicago (1973).
After a number of years on the road, Chandler decided to become more involved with the business end of the music industry. He produced, wrote, arranged, and he had another major hit in 1970 on Mercury. "Groovy Situation", was a pop and R&B success (reaching #12 and #8 respectively), his second biggest hit after "Duke Of Earl". This disc sold over one million copies, and received a gold disc awarded by the R.I.A.A. in November 1970.
The hits he recorded and produced earned him The National Association of Television and Radio Announcers 'Producer of the Year' award in 1970. It should be noted that Chandler was nominated with Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff and Norman Whitfield, who were successful producers at that time, working with The Temptations and the Philadelphia soul sound.
Chandler went on to have a number of disco era hits, including "Get Down," "When You're #1," "Does She Have A Friend?" and "Rainbow '80."[1] Most of these were more popular in the United Kingdom. At that time, he was also the Executive Vice President of Chi-Sound Records, and worked with reggae star, Johnny Nash.
Revival
In the late 1970s, even whilst he was placing hits on the disco chart, the nostalgia craze began. DJ Wolfman Jack put together a traveling show of "oldies" acts, and Chandler joined them in the travels around the country.
In 1997 Chandler was inducted as a Pioneer Award honoree into the Rhythm and Blues Foundation.
In 2002, his #1 hit recording of "Duke Of Earl" was inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame.
He still performs in Chicago, Las Vegas and elsewhere around the U.S.
"Duke of Earl" was played in the 1988 film, Hairspray. It was also sampled by Cypress Hill, on the song "Hand on the Pump" on their 1991 album, Cypress Hill. Equally, Chandler's song "Hallelujah, I Love Her So" was also sampled by Cypress Hill, on the song "Legalize It" on their 1993 album, Black Sunday. "Groovy Situation" appeared on 2004's Anchorman: Music from the Motion Picture
Rainbow
Gene Chandler Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That reminds me of how we parted
And I, I know my love is gone forever
But deep down in my heart I'll love her forever
There's a rainbow, ohh in my heart
Baby, baby, baby, come on my baby
Now listen to me
I'm down on my knees, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Please listen to my plea, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah
I'm looking up above oh, yeah, up above
Praying for your love
Baby, baby, baby, come on now my baby
Come on stop this rainbow
Come on now baby, and stop this rainbow
And I know the things I done to you was wrong
I'm asking you to give me one more chance
Just one more chance to prove to you
That I know I was wrong
And I realize now baby, and I realize now baby
That love only comes once and when it comes you better grab it
'Cause it may not come no more
And I'm askin' you baby, and I'm askin' you baby
And I'm askin' you baby, and I'm askin' you baby
I'm askin please, please, please, please, please
Baby, baby, baby
You look so good this evening baby
Sometimes when I look out at you baby
I feel like I just want to, I just want to
I just want to reach out to you
I just want to reach out to you
I just want to reach out to you
I just want to reach out to you
I just want to reach out to you
I want to reach out and bite, yeah
And I just want to ask you one thing baby
And I just want to ask you one thing baby
I just want to ask you one thing
I just want to ask you one thing
I just want to ask you one thing, one thing baby
I want you to stop, stop this rainbow in my heart
In Gene Chandler's song "Rainbow," the singer sings about the internal struggle of trying to let go of a lost love while still holding onto feelings of love and hope. The metaphor of a rainbow in his heart represents these conflicting emotions - on one hand, the vivid colors of the rainbow represent the beauty and joy that the singer experienced in his past relationship. On the other hand, rainbows only appear after a storm, implying that there was pain or difficulty in the relationship as well. The singer acknowledges that his love is gone forever, but he is unable to stop the rainbow in his heart and the lingering hope that things might be different.
The lyrics express the singer's desperation to win back his lost love ("I'm down on my knees...Praying for your love") and his regret for his past mistakes ("And I know the things I done to you was wrong/I'm asking you to give me one more chance"). He acknowledges that he only realizes the value of the relationship now that it is gone, and he implores his lover to stop the rainbow and give him another chance to prove his love.
The repetition of the phrase "baby, baby, baby" throughout the song emphasizes the intensity of the singer's emotions and his plea for reconciliation. Overall, "Rainbow" is a poignant ballad about the difficulty of letting go of lost love, and the hope that somehow it might still be salvaged.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a rainbow in my heart
My heart is filled with bittersweet memories of our past love.
That reminds me of how we parted
The rainbow symbolizes the moment we had to say goodbye and go our separate ways.
And I, I know my love is gone forever
I have come to terms with the fact that our love has ended and there is no going back.
But deep down in my heart I'll love her forever
Despite everything, my love for her will never truly fade away completely.
Please listen to my plea, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah
I beg of you to hear me out and consider giving me another chance.
Praying for your love
I am hoping and praying that you will find it in your heart to love me again.
Come on stop this rainbow
I want to stop being reminded of our painful past and move forward with you.
And I'm askin please, please, please, please, please
I am desperately pleading with you to give me another chance and forgive me for my mistakes.
And I realize now baby, and I realize now baby
I have come to the realization that true love is rare and I am willing to fight for it.
That love only comes once and when it comes you better grab it
I have learned that true love is precious and you have to appreciate and cherish it when you find it.
I just want to reach out to you
I long to have physical and emotional closeness with you.
And I want to reach out and bite, yeah
I want to express my intense passion and desire for you.
I want you to stop, stop this rainbow in my heart
I want to move on from our past love and start a new chapter with you, free from the pain of our history.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: BOBBY DIGITAL DIXON, NADINE SUTHERLAND
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@alicesimpson1171
I'm 55 years young, and I can Remember all these songs.
Shit) Baby the 70's was the shit Back in the Day. ..
@JamesJackson-pv5cu
yes it was all day long
@Echolyris212
everything sucks now. I envy you growing up in a better time. I unfortunately can only imagine how great it was. lucky you!
@latoshawebster2408
roxy bear it is wonderful being a 70's baby just keep listening to the music from the 70's to the early 2000's you got a OLD SOUL
@theresagipson617
Alice Simpson I know it will be 53 on Monday
@donallen4088
Alice Simpson lol
@kutl1974
My husband and I are 70's babies. This kind of music is so relaxing and calm. We still love it till this day.
@TheRealDealHunny
Me too! This music is like silk that you just want to lie on....kudos my friend.
@lateshiagreen909
Absolutely
@sharonbrown2600
Sitting here remembering my mother playing this record over and over singing along when it came out when I was a child. One of her favorite songs. I miss my mother so much. She passed away on March 7, 2013.