Stevie Wonder -- Sir Duke

 

On this day in 1950, a musical legend was born with the formal name of Stevland Hardaway Judkins but we know him better as Stevie Wonder. Believe it or not, the master singer-songwriter already has some representation here on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" through Kimiko Kasai（笠井紀美子）and Chikuzen Sato（佐藤竹善）, both of whom are also known for their soulful voices. To kill two birds with one stone, since today is also the regular day for Reminiscings of Youth, let us commemorate his birthday with one of Wonder's most iconic tunes, "Sir Duke" which originally appeared on his 1976 album "Songs in the Key of Life" but was also released as a single in March 1977.

So, why "Sir Duke"? Well, the short answer would be "Why not?". It's another great Wonder-ful song, and personally, when I was in high school in my final year of band class (I finally gave up on the clarinet in Grade 11...not much fun with the music teacher that I had), our group played the tune. Perhaps I should edit that previous statement by saying that we attempted to play the tune; Wonder wouldn't have been particularly awed by our performance. There was no way that we could out-Wonder the Wonder.

I read in the Wikipedia article for "Sir Duke" that Wonder had wanted to pay tribute to all of those singers and musicians who had so influenced and inspired him including the supreme jazz bandleader and composer Duke Ellington. He didn't want those artists such as Glenn Miller and Ella Fitzgerald to be forgotten. And so, I don't want Wonder to be forgotten, thus this special ROY article.

There is nothing maudlin about "Sir Duke" at all. It's all joy and celebration of the greats by a fellow great punctuated by those saucy funky horns. I was surprised to find out that Michael Sembello, who would gain further fame by coming up with his early 1980s hit "Maniac" for the "Flashdance" soundtrack, was the lead guitar on the song. What wasn't a surprise was that "Sir Duke" hit No. 1 on both the Canadian and U.S. charts.

So, what were some singles that came out in March 1977?

Hideo Murata -- Jinsei Gekijo (人生劇場) (according to Showa Pops, although Noelle states that it had been released in 1959, so this is probably a re-release.)

Pink Lady -- Carmen '77 （カルメン '77）

Karyudo -- Azusa Ni-go （あずさ２号）