“Duke, Duke, Duke, Duke of Earl; Duke, Duke, Duke of Earl --I am the Duke of Earl.” Who could forget Gene Chandler and the Dukays singing Duke of Earl? Chandler recorded the classic rock and roll song in 1961. Early in 1962 it went to number one and remained there for three weeks! Inspiration for the name of the song came from one of its co-writers, Dukays’ vocalist Earl Edwards, who was known at the time as the “Duke.”
When performing the Duke of Earl, Gene Chandler would dress up like the Duke of Earl --at least what he thought the Duke of Earl might have looked like. He would prance across the stage wearing a monocle, a cape, a top hat, and a cane, all the while singing that he was the Duke of Earl in the best Doo-Wop ever written. Ever since 1962 it has been impossible to even say “Duke of Earl” without people breaking into a beat. Why, I’ll bet right now you’re sitting there singing, “Duke, Duke, Duke, Duke of Earl; Duke, Duke, Duke of Earl.”
While the song couldn’t be beat for rhythm, its message was even more powerful. At that time, most of us had learned about who we were in literature class from Emily Dickinson, who wrote: “I’m Nobody; who are you? Are you Nobody, too?” We all knew the poem had something to do with humility; yet, it didn’t seem to tell the whole story. Still, it’s the only thing that Emily wrote that I remember.
We may have learned humility from Massachusetts’ Emily Dickinson; yet, from a Chicago black man, who had served a hitch in the U.S. Army, we learned that everybody is Somebody. At Christmas time we sing “O Holy Night” in many of our churches as we celebrate the coming of Christ to earth. I particularly like the last verse, “Truly he taught us to love one another, his law is love and his gospel is peace; Chains shall he break for the slave is our brother, and in his name all oppression shall cease.”
No, God didn’t send his Son to die for something worthless. We are compared to a lost sheep, a lost coin, a pearl of great price --all, well worth the finding. We are God’s treasure. God sent his Son to save people who had been “created in the image of God.” Later, Christ would say, “You are more valuable than many sparrows” (Matthew 6: 26). He even went so far as to say that every soul is worth more than the entire world (Matthew 16:26).
So Emily, when you ask me that most profound of all questions, “Who are you?” I must in all honesty answer, “I’m the Duke of Earl. Who are you? Are you the Duke of Earl, too?”