Sir Duke
{{Short description|1977 single by Stevie Wonder}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Sir Duke
| cover = Sir_Duke45.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Stevie Wonder
| album = Songs in the Key of Life
| B-side = He's Misstra Know-It-All
| released = March 22, 1977
| recorded =
| studio =
| genre =
- Pop{{cite web |first=John |last=McFerrin |url=http://www.johnmcferrinmusicreviews.org/wonder.htm#sitkol |title=Stevie Wonder- Songs In The Key of Life |access-date=2018-09-22 |archive-date=2020-07-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702055424/http://www.johnmcferrinmusicreviews.org/wonder.htm#sitkol |url-status=live }}
- R&B{{cite web|first= Tom |last= Breihan |title= The Number Ones: Stevie Wonder's "Sir Duke"|website= Stereogum |date= October 28, 2019 |url= https://www.stereogum.com/2062883/the-number-ones-stevie-wonders-sir-duke/columns/the-number-ones/|quote= “Sir Duke” isn’t exactly a jazz song, and it isn’t exactly a Motown-style R&B song, either. It flips back and forth between the two modes...|access-date= July 2, 2023}}
- jazz{{cite web|first= Tom |last= Breihan |title= The Number Ones: Stevie Wonder's "Sir Duke"|website= Stereogum |date= October 28, 2019 |url= https://www.stereogum.com/2062883/the-number-ones-stevie-wonders-sir-duke/columns/the-number-ones/|quote= “Sir Duke” isn’t exactly a jazz song, and it isn’t exactly a Motown-style R&B song, either. It flips back and forth between the two modes...|access-date= July 2, 2023}}
- soul{{cite book|title=33 1/3 Revolutions Per Minute - A Critical Trip Through the Rock LP Era, 1955–1999|first=Mike|last=Segretto|date=2022|chapter= 1976|page= 328|publisher=Backbeat|isbn=9781493064601|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jtNtEAAAQBAJ}}
| length = 3:52
| label = Tamla
| writer = Stevie Wonder
| producer = Stevie Wonder
| prev_title = I Wish
| prev_year = 1976
| next_title = Another Star
| next_year = 1977
| misc =
}}
"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,{{cite book |title= Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2004 |publisher=Record Research |page=636}} 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, the jazz composer, bandleader, and pianist who had influenced him as a musician.{{cite news|title=Top Single Picks|newspaper=Billboard|access-date=2020-07-12|page=68|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/70s/1977/Billboard%201977-04-02.pdf|date=April 2, 1977|archive-date=2020-07-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200712210128/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/70s/1977/Billboard%201977-04-02.pdf|url-status=live}} 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 me. So soon they are forgotten. I wanted to show my appreciation."
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".
Wonder recorded other tributes to people he admired, including the 1980 songs "Master Blaster", dedicated to Bob Marley, and "Happy Birthday", which pleaded for what would eventually become the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday in the United States.
Reception
Cash Box said that "it's a tribute to jazz and roots, with a beat that lies somewhere between jazz and funk, and a horn section that dances on winged feet."{{cite news|title=CashBox Singles Reviews|date=April 2, 1977|page=20|newspaper=Cash Box|accessdate=2021-12-26|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1977/CB-1977-04-02.pdf|archive-date=2021-11-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211127200643/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1977/CB-1977-04-02.pdf|url-status=live}} Record World said upon its single release: "Already familiar from its radio play and already on The Singles Chart, it is shaping up as a major hit."{{cite magazine|magazine=Record World|date=April 9, 1977|accessdate=2023-02-16|title=Hits of the Week|page=1|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/70s/77/RW-1977-04-09-Error-on-Cover.pdf}} New York Times critic John Rockwell said that it's "not Wonder's most compelling song, but nice that it should be so popular."{{cite news|via=newspapers.com|accessdate=2022-06-21|newspaper=Charlotte Observer|author=Rockwell, John|date=June 17, 1977|page=10D|title=Top 10 Singles Are All Eclectic|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/104153570/the-charlotte-observer/|archive-date=2022-06-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220621140406/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/104153570/the-charlotte-observer/|url-status=live}}
Personnel
- Produced, written, arranged and composed by Stevie Wonder
- Vocals, Fender Rhodes electric piano, and percussion by Stevie Wonder
- Trumpets by Raymond Maldonado and Steve Madaio
- Drums by Raymond Pounds
- Bass guitar by Nathan Watts
- Lead guitar by Michael Sembello
- Rhythm guitar by Ben Bridges
- Alto saxophone by Hank Redd
- Tenor saxophone by Trevor Lawrence
Charts and certifications
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
=Weekly charts=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="text-align:left;"
|+Weekly chart performance for "Sir Duke" !scope="col"|Chart (1977–1978) !scope="col"|Peak |
| scope="row"|Australia (Kent Music Report){{cite Kent|page=342–343}}
| style="text-align:center;"|69 |
|---|
| {{single chart|Austria|10|artist=Stevie Wonder|song=Sir Duke|rowheader=true|access-date=December 5, 2023}} |
| {{single chart|Flanders|22|artist=Stevie Wonder|song=Sir Duke|rowheader=true|access-date=December 5, 2023}} |
| {{single chart|Wallonia|24|artist=Stevie Wonder|song=Sir Duke|rowheader=true|access-date=December 5, 2023}} |
| {{single chart|Canadatopsingles|1|artist|Stevie Wonder|song=Sir Duke|chartid=5242a|rowheader=true}} |
| {{single chart|Germany|10|songid=455|artist=Stevie Wonder|song=Sir Duke|rowheader=true|access-date=December 5, 2023}} |
| {{single chart|Dutch100|19|artist=Stevie Wonder|song=Sir Duke|rowheader=true|access-date=December 5, 2023}} |
| {{single chart|New Zealand|24|artist=Stevie Wonder|song=Sir Duke|rowheader=true|access-date=December 5, 2023}} |
| {{single chart|Norway|8|artist=Stevie Wonder|song=Sir Duke|rowheader=true|access-date=December 5, 2023}} |
| {{single chart|Switzerland|4|artist=Stevie Wonder|song=Sir Duke|rowheader=true|access-date=December 5, 2023}} |
| {{single chart|UKsinglesbyname|2|artist=Stevie Wonder|song=Sir Duke|rowheader=true}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardhot100|1|artist=Stevie Wonder|rowheader=true}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardrandbhiphop|1|artist=Stevie Wonder|rowheader=true}} |
| scope="row"|US Billboard Adult Contemporary{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/stevie-wonder/chart-history/asi/|title=Stevie Wonder Chart History: Adult Contemporary|magazine=Billboard|access-date=December 5, 2023}}
| style="text-align:center;"|3 |
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |
| Chart (2014)
!Peak |
|---|
| scope="row"| South Korea International (Circle){{cite web|url=https://circlechart.kr/page_chart/onoff.circle?nationGbn=E&serviceGbn=ALL&targetTime=28&hitYear=2014&termGbn=week&yearTime=3|title=Digital Chart: 2014 Weeks 28 |publisher=Circle |accessdate=March 13, 2025 }}
| 72 |
{{col-2}}
=Year-end charts=
=Certifications=
{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for "Sir Duke"}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|type=single|title=Sir Duke|artist=Stevie Wonder|award=Gold|relyear=1977|certyear=1978|access-date=August 4, 2023}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|id=5935-82-1|title=Sir Duke|artist=Stevie Wonder|award=Platinum|relyear=2004|certyear=2022|access-date=February 18, 2022}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|streaming=true}}
{{col-end}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://secondhandsongs.com/work/7817/versions List of cover versions of "Sir Duke"] at SecondHandSongs.com
{{Stevie Wonder}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
Category:Cashbox number-one singles
Category:Songs written by Stevie Wonder
Category:Tamla Records singles
Category:Songs about musicians
Category:Cultural depictions of Louis Armstrong
Category:Cultural depictions of Duke Ellington
Category:Cultural depictions of jazz musicians