"Sir Duke" is a song composed and performed by Stevie Wonder from his 1976 album ''

Songs in the Key of Life ''Songs in the Key of Life'' is the eighteenth studio album by American singer, songwriter and musician Stevie Wonder. A double album, it was released on September 28, 1976, by Tamla Records, a division of Motown. It was recorded primarily at Crys ...

''. 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 The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, 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 Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

legend who had died in 1974. The lyrics also refer to

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

, Glenn Miller, Louis Armstrong and

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

. Wonder re-recorded the song for the 1995 live album '' Natural Wonder''.

Background

Wonder wrote the song as a tribute to Duke Ellington, the

composer, bandleader, and

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

who had influenced him as a musician. Wonder had already experienced the death of two of his idols (

Dinah Washington Dinah Washington (born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, who has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the 1950s songs". Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performe ...

and

Wes Montgomery John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for an unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a dist ...

) 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 A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalent ...

, Satchmo, and the king of all,

Sir Duke "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 ...

/ 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 Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

, and " Happy Birthday", which pleaded for what would eventually become the

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Martin Luther King Jr. Day (officially Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., and sometimes referred to as MLK Day) is a federal holiday in the United States marking the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. It is observed on the third Mond ...

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." ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' critic

John Rockwell John Sargent Rockwell (born September 16, 1940) is an American music critic, dance critic and arts administrator. According to '' Grove Music Online'', "Rockwell brings two signal attributes to his critical work: a genuine admiration for all ...

said that it's "not Wonder's most compelling song, but nice that it should be so popular."

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

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 Nathan or Natan may refer to: People *Nathan (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name *Nathan (surname) *Nathan (prophet), a person in the Hebrew Bible * Nathan (son of David), biblical figure, son of King David an ...

*Lead guitar by

Michael Sembello Michael Andrew Sembello (born April 17, 1954) is an American singer, guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, composer and producer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Sembello was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for his 1983 song "M ...

*Rhythm guitar by Ben Bridges *Alto saxophone by Hank Redd *Tenor saxophone by

Trevor Lawrence William Trevor Lawrence (born October 6, 1999) is an American football quarterback for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). Considered among the highest-touted college football prospects, he won the 2019 National C ...

References

External links

List of cover versions of "Sir Duke"
at SecondHandSongs.com {{Authority control Stevie Wonder songs 1977 singles 1977 songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Songs based on real people Songs written by Stevie Wonder Motown singles Tamla Records singles Songs about jazz Songs about musicians Cultural depictions of Louis Armstrong Cultural depictions of Duke Ellington Cultural depictions of jazz musicians RPM Top Singles number-one singles