August 6, 2013 – The legendary George Duke dies
He was one of those artists who was loved by fans, but was maybe loved even more by his peers. And on this day in 2013 George Duke, one of the true giants of popular music, died in Los Angeles at age 67, a year after the death of Corine Duke, his wife of over four decades.
Duke stood as one of the true master keyboardists of the late 20th century. In a forty plus year career, Duke performed with everyone from Cannonball Adderley to Frank Zappa to Deniece Williams to Michael Jackson. Add to this his incredibly soulful singing voice, production work and ground-breaking arrangements on several Grammy-winning projects, and numerous film and TV scoring projects, and he amassed one of the most fascinating and rewarding careers in recorded music industry. (read full biography)
In addition to being one of the true innovators in contemporary jazz, Duke was a leader in the soul music world. He produced almost everybody at one time or another. Even in the year of his passing he showed his mastery, producing Jeffrey Osborne’s comeback album A Time For Love, and releasing his own Dream Weaver. As a headline artist, he scored major hits with songs like the funky “Reach For It” and the deliciously smooth “No Rhyme, No Reason,” and topped the charts with his duet albums with Stanley Clarke.
George Duke was as close to a Renaissance man of music as we knew, and the sheer volume of great music with which he played a part is nearly unmatched.
