The Stevie Wonder song written as a tribute to Duke Ellington
Undoubtedly one of the most prominent recording artists of the 20th century, Stevie Wonder took the world by storm. Transcending his Motown roots to become one of soul music’s biggest stars, the one-man band never missed an opportunity to pay heartfelt tribute to those who had inspired him, including one Duke Ellington.
The discography of Stevie Wonder is littered with tributes and references to jazz and soul stars from times past. At the age of just 12, Wonder unveiled the album Tribute to Uncle Ray, a homage to the work of Ray Charles. Although it has since been argued that the record was an attempt by Motown boss Berry Gordy to associate the young Stevie Wonder with Ray Charles as a fellow blind musician, it is indisputable that Charles had a certain influence on the young soul star.
Elsewhere, Wonder paid tribute to the late, great jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery on his 1968 release Eivets Rednow after Montgomery had passed away that same year. The songwriter’s most obvious homage to his influences came with ‘Sir Duke’, a track taken from 1976’s Songs In The Key Of Life – arguably Wonder’s defining album.
As the title suggests, ‘Sir Duke’ centres around Duke Ellington, the big band leader and famed jazz pianist. Ellington, who passed away in 1974, was dubbed “the king of all” by Wonder, who had once attempted to collaborate with the jazz star. The track proved popular, topping the charts in the US and kept off the top spot in the UK by Deniece Williams’ ‘Free’. For Wonder, however, ‘Sir Duke’ was much more than a hit song; it was an opportunity to give his personal heroes their dues.
Within the track, Wonder also namedrops the likes of Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie and Sodarisa Miller. Revealing the inspiration behind the song, Stevie once said, “I knew the title from the beginning but wanted it to be about the musicians who did something for us,” before adding: “So soon they are forgotten. I wanted to show my appreciation. They gave us something that is supposed to be forever. That’s the basic idea of what we do and how we hook it up.”
Unlike the Berry Gordy-backed composition of Tribute to Uncle Ray, ‘Sir Duke’ was an idea composed entirely by Stevie Wonder himself, an attempt at celebrating the pivotal artists who had paved the way for countless others, including himself. Even without the celebratory lyrics, the music of the track itself evokes the jazz of Ellington, with a rhythm laying somewhere between Wonder’s signature funk and Ellington’s pioneering jazz sound.
Wonder would continue celebrating musical pioneers, writing ‘Master Blaster’ in 1980 and preaching the genius of reggae superstar Bob Marley. Although his collaborations with Ellington and Wes Montgomery never came to fruition, Motown’s favourite son has gone on to collaborate with some of the biggest names in popular music, from Paul McCartney to Whitney Houston.
