Gwen & George McCrae
George McCrae
The “King”. The “Acknowledged Leader” of the soul revolution. George McCrae’s talents go much deeper than a flash in the pan-one time super star, his unique style, his universal appeal and his devotion to perfection have placed him in the position of continuing popularity in more then 82 countries for nearly three decade. Talent has taken this popular performer on three world tours with critics raving at every performance and audiences screaming for more.
Since his smash hit “Rock Your Baby” rocketed him to fame in 1974, George has set the music world on fire with hit after hit. Two platinum singles, two platinum LP’s and fourteen gold records, top music awards from all over the globe have attested to this amazing vocalist’s popularity and talent.
George McCrae, the innovator, spearheaded the whole “Miami Sound” which became the nation’s disco taste and the record that set the standard for every other pop recording artist to follow was “Rock Your Baby”. Certainly the record of 1974 around the world, that one song sold in excess of 52 million copies making it one of the biggest selling pop records in history. Voted the “No. 1 Single of the Year” by Rolling Stone Magazine, Record World, British’s Cash Box and the Dutch Music Poll. “Rock Your Baby” remained a number one hit on the charts in more than 82 countries for months.
George received the coveted “Luxembourg Golden Lion Award” for outstanding Achievement by a Foreign Artist in Germany, (Frank Sinatra is the only other U.S.A. Recipient of this award). George was a 1974 nominee for the Best Male R & B Vocalist at the prestigious National Academy of Recording Arts and Science.
The power of a super hit record to create international stardom for a new artist has never been more clearly evident than in the case of George McCrae.
Born the second oldest of nine children on October 19, 1944 in West Palm Beach, Florida and the son of a retired policeman, George McCrae had his first singing experience in church at the age of six. As a teenager he sang with the Roosevelt High School Glee Club and eventually formed his own group, the Jivin’ Jets, before joining the U.S. Navy in 1963. Back on civie street, four years later, George sang in clubs and lounges around Florida and after seven years of modest musical success and a couple of records, enrolled in college to study law enforcement. But music was still on his mind and he decided to record “Rock Your Baby” as one last shot. It hit the charts like a tidal wave.
The man who zoomed to the top with his simple, sexy, hypnotic rendition knows that one hit, no matter how tremendous, is not the sole basis for a career. Hot on the heels of this phenomenal hit, “I Can’t Leave You Alone” and “You Can Have It All” (singles pulled from the LP “Rock Your Baby”) sustained George’s spot at the top of the international pop charts. No longer categorized as just an R & B act, George continues to break his records successfully with the audiences of Europe and other Countries before they ever cross over to hit the R&B (dance) and Pop charts in North America.
His second hit album entitled “George McCrae” sustained his prominence with block busters such as “It’s Been So Long” and “I Ain’t Lyin” established George as a versatile performer and lead to further global tours. Again, in 1979 on the crest of his popular LP “We Did It”, George toured Britain, Europe and the Middle East. His other chart smashes include “Sing A Happy Song” and “Honey I”.
And what since1980? A self-imposed semi-retirement. “I wanted just to take it easy, because since 1974 I was on the road. I wanted a break to give me time to get myself together and spend time with my family and everything”, admits the handsome vocalist.
In 1984, George was back on the music scene with a new sound, from his new LP “One Step Closer” and single of the same name reached the no.1 position contemporary charts in Canada and top 75 charts in England and Holland.
The ball started to roll again, in 1987 George re-recorded “Rock Your Baby” and instantly, he was back in the European dance charts.
Now it all happens again. George has been co-writing and co-producing new music, a platinum sound – the “McCrae sound” the sound that the fans have been begging for – smooth – soulful – sensational. New songs, new records, new sound, with just enough of the original magic to guarantee George McCrae another decade of worldwide stardom.
George McCrae’s latest CD, LP, “With All My Heart” was released in July 1991, on Magnif/Dino label, Germany. The first single, “Breathless”, top 20 dance charts, Europe. In 1994 he did it again with his latest CD, “Do Something” in which the title single went top ten in Belgium, Luxembourg and The Netherlands.
In the year 2003, Georgie boy was back in a recording studio in Tarol, Austria working on his new upcoming CD. The first single from this new endeavor “Hold Me In Your Arms” has been released in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in November 2003.
Yes! George McCrae does it again. “The Disco Pioneer”, “The King of Disco Soul Dance Music”.
Gwen McCrae
Best remembered for her number one R&B hit “Rockin’ Chair” from 1975, Gwen McCrae was a gutsy Southern soul diva with a particular affinity for dance tracks. Along with her husband George (Rock Your Baby), Gwen was part of the Miami-based T.K. Records stable, which laid a great deal of groundwork for the disco explosion. Born Gwen Mosley in Pensacola, FL, in 1943, she grew up singing in her Pentecostal church and later discovered secular singers like Sam Cooke and Aretha Franklin. She began performing in local clubs as a teenager, also singing with local groups like the Lafayettes and the Independents. In 1963, she met a young Navy sailor named George McCrae, whom she married within a week. When George was discharged, he re-formed an earlier group he’d sung with called the Jivin’ Jets, and invited Gwen to join as well. Soon, however, George and Gwen split off to form a duo – aptly dubbed George & Gwen – and moved to West Palm Beach to perform in clubs all over South Florida.
George & Gwen were discovered in 1967 by singer Betty Wright, who helped get them signed to Henry Stone’s Alston label. Their debut single, “Three Hearts in a Tangle”, was released in 1969; the follow-up, “Like Yesterday Our Love Is Gone”, marked the first time they worked with the writing team of Clarence Reid (who would later morph into the bawdy comic Blowfly) and Willie Clarke. Both were regional hits, as was third single, “No One Left to Come Home”, although none of those records broke nationally; meanwhile, the McCraes and Wright were collectively earning a reputation as stellar session vocalists. In 1970, one of Gwen’s solo recordings, the Bobby “Blue” Bland cover “Lead Me On”, was picked up by Columbia and became her first Top 40 hit on the R&B charts. In the wake of that breakthrough, George temporarily retired from singing to become her manager, and Alston leased her contract to Columbia; she recorded several more singles over the next few years, but without comparable chart success.
Columbia declined to renew McCrae’s contract in 1973, and she was signed to a different Henry Stone label, the T.K. subsidiary Cat. She had a regional hit with “He Keeps Something Groovy Goin’ On that year, and then her second national hit with the R&B Top 20 “For Your Love” (originally recorded by Ed Townsend). However, her minor 1974 hit “It’s Worth the Hurt was overshadowed by George’s across-the-board smash “Rock Your Baby”, a song originally intended for Gwen that heralded disco’s arrival on the pop charts. It was Gwen’s turn in the spotlight the following year, when she took the sexy Reid/Clarke composition “Rockin’ Chair” all the way to the top of the R&B charts, not to mention the pop Top Ten. In the wake of its success, McCrae released her first-ever album (also called Rockin’ Chair) and scored further R&B hits with “Love Insuranc”e and “Cradle of Love”.
By this time, the separate successes were taking their toll on the McCraes’ marriage (Gwen has since alleged that her husband beat her frequently). A 1976 duet single, “Winners Together, Losers Apart”, fell short of the R&B Top 40, and a full album of duets failed to assuage matters. The couple split later that year, and Gwen scored what turned out to be her last chart hit for Cat, “Damn Right It’s Good. Despite a fine effort with the 1978 LP Let’s Straighten It Out, McCrae’s commercial momentum was stalled, and although 1979’s “All This Love That I’m Giving later became a favorite on Britain’s Northern soul scene, it didn’t attract much attention upon its release. With the T.K. label family in serious financial trouble, McCrae moved to New Jersey and signed with Atlantic in 1980, a stint that produced two albums (Gwen McCrae and On My Way) and several chart singles still prized by collectors: “Funky Sensation”, “Poyson”, and “Keep the Fire Burning”. Feeling underpromoted, McCrae moved back to Florida, cut a one-off single for the small Black Jack label in 1984 called “Do You Know What I Mean”, and retired from the music business.
McCrae was rediscovered by the British Northern soul and rare groove scenes during the ’80s, and she traveled to England to record a couple of singles for Rhythm King in 1987. Pleased with her enduring popularity in the U.K., McCrae eventually recorded an entire album for the British Homegrown label in 1996, titled Girlfriend’s Boyfriend. Upon returning to America, she signed with the revived Goldwax label, distributed by Ichiban, and recorded another album later that year, Psychic Hot Line. In 1998, Ichiban reissued Girlfriend’s Boyfriend in the U.S. McCrae returned in 1999 with Still Rockin’, which received favorable reviews in blues and classic soul circles.
Steve Huey, All Music Guide