Sir Duke
Context
Written by Stevie Wonder for the album Songs in the Key of Life (1976), the song pays tribute to Duke Ellington, who died in 1974, and cites Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong and Glenn Miller. Its unison brass riff and its swing over a backbeat made it immediately recognizable. Released as a single in March 1977, it reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and on the R&B chart.
In the genealogy of jazz
This track belongs to Swing, big bands, Soul jazz, boogaloo. Among the origins and influences of Swing, big bands: Chicago, Stride (Harlem piano), Harlem: Henderson, Redman, Ellington, Kansas City, Boogie-woogie, Symphonic jazz, dance orchestras.