# Bernice Williams > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Bernice_Williams > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Bernice_Williams.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernice_Williams > Source revision: 1326853674 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Bernice Williams** is an American [songwriter](/source/Songwriter) and music business manager, who wrote the 1960s song "[Duke of Earl](/source/Duke_of_Earl)"[1][2] along with [Gene Chandler](/source/Gene_Chandler) and [Earl Edwards](/source/Earl_Edwards_(songwriter)).[3] The song was inducted into the [Grammy Hall of Fame](/source/Grammy_Hall_of_Fame) in 2002 and is in The [Rock and Roll Hall of Fame](/source/Rock_and_Roll_Hall_of_Fame) as one of the 500 songs that shaped rock and roll.[4] In the 1960s, she wrote three [*Billboard* Hot 100](/source/Billboard_Hot_100) hit songs. ## Career Chandler was discovered by Williams. Under her professional guidance, Chandler was introduced to agent Bill Sheppard, and Sheppard found a slot for Chandler as the lead singer with a doo-wop group called the Dukays.[5] Their track, "Night Owl" (also known as "Nite Owl"), was released on Nat Records,[6] and it entered the *Billboard* Hot 100, peaking at number 73 in February 1962. "Duke of Earl" appeared as a [single](/source/Single_(music)) in November 1961, with a song called "Kissin' In The Kitchen" (also written by Bernice Williams) on the [B-side](/source/A-side_and_B-side). "Duke of Earl" was a major hit, with one million copies sold by the end of the calendar year; the song topped both the [U.S.](/source/United_States) pop and R&B charts in February 1962.[7][8] Williams was also responsible for the discovery of [The Starlets](/source/The_Starlets), an American girl group from [Chicago](/source/Chicago), [Illinois](/source/Illinois). The group came together in 1961, and auditioned for Williams. She wrote them "Better Tell Him No",[9] which was released on Pam Records that year. The record peaked at number 38 on the Billboard Hot 100.[10][11] [Tiny Topsy](/source/Tiny_Topsy) was believed to be an alias used by Williams (who wrote Tiny Topsy's track, "Western Rock 'N' Roll") for some time, although pop historians now discount the idea.[12] Williams has written over 200 songs.[13] ## Family She lives in [Chicago](/source/Chicago) with her daughter, and continues to write music. ## References 1. Pruter, Robert (1992). [*Chicago Soul*](https://books.google.com/books?id=2kkcmS0AzMEC&pg=PA58). University of Illinois Press. pp. 58–. ISBN 978-0-252-06259-9. Retrieved 15 August 2011. 1. Langer, Adam (25 July 1991). ["Music People: nothing has stopped the Duke of Earl"](https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/music-people-nothing-has-stopped-the-duke-of-earl/Content?oid=877973). *Chicago Reader*. Retrieved 2020-10-27. 1. Richie Unterberger. ["Duke of Earl - Gene Chandler | Song Info"](http://www.allmusic.com/song/duke-of-earl-mt0050778278). [AllMusic](/source/AllMusic). Retrieved 2016-10-04. 1. ["Duke of Earl Lyrics"](https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/1593992). *Lyrics.com*. Retrieved 2020-10-27. 1. ["Today in Rock & Roll History: January 13th"](https://www.wwcfradio.org/today-in-rock-roll-history-january-13th/). *Wwcfradio.org*. 2020-01-13. Retrieved 2020-10-27. 1. Andrew Hamilton. ["The Dukays | Biography & History"](http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-dukays-mn0000785533). [AllMusic](/source/AllMusic). Retrieved 2016-10-04. 1. Robert Pruter (1996). [*Doowop: The Chicago Scene*](https://books.google.com/books?id=j06dhDdsgioC&q=Dukays+Williams&pg=PA211). University of Illinois Press. pp. 211–213. ISBN 9780252065064. 1. ["Gene Chandler - *The Official Website*"](https://web.archive.org/web/20140311230044/http://www.genechandler.com/index2.html). Gene Chandler. Archived from [the original](http://www.genechandler.com/index2.html) on 2014-03-11. Retrieved 2014-06-29. 1. ["The Dukays | Way Back Attack"](https://www.waybackattack.com/dukays.html). *Waybackattack.com*. Retrieved 2020-10-27. 1. ["The Starlets | Biography & History"](http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-starlets-mn0001848001). [AllMusic](/source/AllMusic). Retrieved 2016-10-04. 1. Joel Whitburn (2000). *The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits*. 9th ed. Billboard Books. ISBN 978-0823085545. 1. ["Tiny Topsy | Biography & History"](http://www.allmusic.com/artist/tiny-topsy-mn0001894607). [AllMusic](/source/AllMusic). Retrieved 2016-10-04. 1. ["Bernice Williams"](https://www.discogs.com/artist/687956-Bernice-Williams). *Discogs.com*. Retrieved 2020-10-27. ## External links - ["Poverty hits African Americans hard", 23 April 2009](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8013102.stm) at News.bbc.co.uk --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bernice Williams](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernice_Williams) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernice_Williams?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.