Feb. 17, 1962 - Hitting the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 today is “Duke of Earl” by Gene Chandler (top). The song originated from warm-up exercises by the Dukays, a vocal group that included Chandler, who performed then under his original name, Eugene Dixon. The group would regularly warm up by singing “Do, do, do..." in different keys. On one occasion, Dixon changed the syllables, and the chant gradually transformed from “do, do, do” to “Duke, Duke, Duke, Duke of Earl.”
