Sir Duke – Stevie Wonder (1976)

Description

Additional information about this, Stevie Wonder vinyl art.

Stevie Wonder – The Artist

Stevland Hardaway Morris known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist. A child prodigy, he is considered to be one of the most critically and commercially successful musical performers of the late 20th century. Stevie Wonder signed with Motown’s Tamla label at the age of 11, and he continued performing and recording for Motown into the 2010s. He has been blind since shortly after birth.

Sir Duke – The Song

“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 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. Wonder wrote the song as a tribute to Duke Ellington, the jazz composer, bandleader, and pianist who had influenced him as a musician.[5] 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.
er Tompkins and Christopher Bird. It contains two singles that reached the Billboard Hot 100 charts: “Send One Your Love” (No. 4) and the minor hit “Outside My Window” (No. 52). The single “Black Orchid” reached No. 63 in the UK.

Duke Ellington – The Shape

This record has been crafted into the silhouette of the Duke waving his hand while conducting his famous orchestra.  Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington (1899 – 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life.

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