Singer/songwriter Gene Chandler was a major player in every era of R&B and its offshoots, from the 1950s through the '70s. He began working with his group the Dukays in the '50s, releasing the massive doo wop hit “Duke of Earl” in 1962. Subsequently going solo, he scored a boatload of hits with a distinctive pop/soul amalgam, and worked memorably with Jerry Butler and Curtis Mayfield. The ever adaptable Chandler even had a batch of disco hits in the late '70s.