Today’s classic song of the day is another classic track from Stevie Wonder’s career-defining album, Songs in the Key of Life. The song is “Sir Duke” and, when released as a single in March of 1977, it went to #1 on the both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B charts, and was a massive hit worldwide.
When recording, Stevie typically played a lot of tracks himself. On “Sir Duke,” however, he employed a very talented group of backing musicians, including Michael Sembello on lead guitar, Ben Bridges on rhythm guitar, Nathan Watts on bass, and Raymond Pounds on drums. The horns were played by Raymond Maldonado and Steve Madaio (trumpets), Hank Reid (alto sax), and Trevor Lawrence (tenor sax). Stevie provided all the vocals, the Fender Rhodes electric piano, and some extra percussion.
“Sir Duke” is a joyful tribute to some of the jazz greats of yesteryear, particularly Duke Ellington, for whom the song is named. Other jazzers mentioned in the lyrics include Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong, and Glenn Miller. In Stevie’s own words:
“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.”
True to its title and subject matter, “Sir Duke” grooves to a jazzy beat. You can feel the double-time swing even as Stevie adds a two and four backbeat in normal time. This makes the track both swinging and grounded, a uniquely infectious feel.
This is one of my favorite tracks from Songs in the Key of Life, and that 2 1/2-album set is full of great tracks. Songs in the Key of Life, released in September of 1976, was a key part of the soundtrack of my freshman year in college. It’s truly one of the great albums of all time; there’s not a bad cut on it.
And here’s today’s daily bonus video of the day, Stevie Wonder and his band playing “Sir Duke” live. You can feel it all over, people…
