Wilmer & The Dukes “Wilmer & The Dukes” 1969 US superb Soul Funk Rock..recommended..!
full vk
Under-rated and extremely hard to find, this CD belongs in everyone’s collection who just like well-played rock-n’-roll. My collection runs way over 1,000 CDs and this one rates at the top shelf. The musicians and vocalists have nailed it! Absolutey tight, smokin’ music that give you a reason to start a collection in the first place. Great for backround music to keep the energy level up while you’re workin’ in the wee hours. Their cover versions of songs are every bit as good as the originals. Great piano, horns, guitars,etc. These gentlemen have set the bar for dance hall and club music,(as the liner notes state) as you would have heard it in the late 60’s, and really sounds wonderful even now. This group should have gone multi-platinum. Grab your headphones,listen to the disc the whole way thru, and you’ll hear what I am trying to say. Beware if you take this rarity to a party, you may not get it back!!! Definitely should appeal to any Baby-Boomer or Gen whatever. Put this disc on your sound system, crank it, and it’s an instant party starter. Take it from there! Thank-you “Wilmer & The Dukes” for the music, and thank-you ever so much for this quality re-issue! Buy it while you can! This music is getting very hard to find anymore!….by… J from PA…~
As a small boy in Geneva NY I had some of the best preformers and music around me and I never even knew it. I knew “The Duke” Mr. Gillotte very well through family members, friends and his Son. To me I always thought of Mr. Gillotte as my buddy’s Dad….“The things you learn in life”. I knew he was in a band, my Dad was too and he talked of how great The Dukes really were. I never really knew it myself until I grew up and left for the armed forces. Seven years later the realization set in. I was home for the holidays and heard the remastered cd.I was at the “club house” where my father Carmen, The Bruno, my brothers and friends hang out drink beer, eat sausage and peppers and sing their hearts out to The Dukes….note for note…word for word! I tried so hard to get the cd but none of the music stores I went to had any left, I was heart broken. Well then I got lucky and found it on line. There are no words to describe how much love and respect I have for this band and the music they preformed. The sound they had was amazing to me, Mr Gillotte’s B-3 Organ claws right through the songs and ripppppppps your heart out! Not only did they play the songs better than the original rock groups that wrote the songs….they did it with a hell of a lot more heart and rock-n-roll soul! Even though I’m not home in good ol’ G-town, I still have my Dukes cd to keep me company when I get home sick…… “I listen to it everyday”….by…anthony j. fratto….~
Natives of Geneva, New York drummer Ron Alberts, singer/sax player Wilmer Alexander Jr., and keyboardist Ralph Gillotte started playing together in 1957.
Originally known as Wilmer Alexander Junior and the Dukes, by the mid-1960s the racially integrated band included bassist Monte Alberts and lead guitarist Doug Brown. With a broad array of cover tunes and a couple of originals in their repertoire they’d also become staples on the New York club and college circuit, as well as an in-demand opening act for national pop, rock and soul acts touring the region.
The band’s brush with national success came in 1968 when they signed a contract with the small Buffalo, New York-based Aphrodisiac label.
Penned by guitarist Doug Brown, the band debuted with the single ‘Give Me One More Chance’ b/w 'Get It’ (Aphrodisiac catalog number SME 260). A major regional hit, the 45 also hit # 80 nationally, which was enough for Aphrodisiac to finance a self-titled LP. Recorded in New York City with producer Gene Radice, the cleverly titled “Wilmer & the Dukes” (note the shortened name) served as a nice showcase the band’s broad and versatile chops. Apparently meant to capture the group’s long standing live act, the collection showcased a mixture of popular pop and soul hits, with a couple of Doug Brown originals thrown in. Alexander had a great voice that was equally at home on pop, rock and soul material while the rest of the band (particularly guitarist Brown and keyboardist Gillotte) were razor sharp - a decade on the club circuit tended to do that if it didn’t kill you. Certainly not the most original album of the year, but a pleasant surprise throughout. ….Bad Cat…..~
Includes Give Me One More Chance . Here’s the complete Wilmer & the Dukes album, remastered from the original master tapes with two unreleased tracks.
Wilmer Alexander Jr. -- vocals, sax
- Monte Alberts -- bass
- Ron Alberts -- drums, percussion
- Doug Brown -- lead guitar
- Ralph Gillotte (RIP 1999) -- keyboards, backing vocals
supporting musicians:
- Bert Collins -- trumpet
- Ralph Hamstent -- organ
- Arnie Lawrence - baritone sax
- Tommy Mitchell -- trombone
- Richard Radice -- sax
- Jerome Richardson - sax
Tracklist
Living In The USA 3:15
Count On Me 2:33
Get Out Of My Life, Woman 2:35
I Do Love You 3:15
Love-itis/Show Me 5:12
Heavy Time 2:27
St. James Infirmary 5:36
Get It (Instrumental) 2:40
I'm Free 2:37
Give Me One More Chance 2:40
