Gwen McCrae

Gwen McCrae earned lasting recognition through her 1975 R&B chart-topping single “Rockin’ Chair,” emerging as a bold Southern soul singer drawn especially to dance-oriented material. She and her husband George, whose own smash “Rock Your Baby” helped define the era, both belonged to the Miami-centered T.K. Records roster that supplied much of the foundation for the coming disco surge. Born Gwen Mosley in Pensacola, Florida, in 1943, she first sang in a Pentecostal congregation before absorbing the styles of secular artists such as Sam Cooke and Aretha Franklin. As a teenager she began appearing in neighborhood venues and lent her voice to local ensembles including the Lafayettes and the Independents. In 1963 she encountered Navy sailor George McCrae and wed him within seven days; once discharged, he revived his earlier combo the Jivin’ Jets and brought Gwen aboard. The pair soon broke away to perform as the duo George & Gwen, relocating to West Palm Beach and working clubs throughout South Florida.

Singer Betty Wright spotted them in 1967 and arranged a contract with Henry Stone’s Alston imprint. Their initial release, “Three Hearts in a Tangle,” appeared in 1969, followed by “Like Yesterday Our Love Is Gone,” their first collaboration with songwriters Clarence Reid—who later performed as the irreverent comic Blowfly—and Willie Clarke. A third single, “No One Left to Come Home,” also scored regionally, though none crossed into national prominence; at the same time, McCrae, her husband, and Wright collectively built reputations as first-rate session singers. One of Gwen’s solo sides, a cover of Bobby “Blue” Bland’s “Lead Me On,” was acquired by Columbia in 1970 and became her earliest R&B Top 40 entry. George briefly stepped back from performing to manage her career, after which Alston loaned her contract to Columbia; several additional singles followed over the next few years, yet none matched that initial breakthrough.

Columbia let the agreement lapse in 1973, prompting a move to another Henry Stone concern, the T.K. subsidiary Cat. That year she notched a regional success with “He Keeps Something Groovy Goin’ On” and then her second national hit, the R&B Top 20 “For Your Love,” first cut by Ed Townsend. Her modest 1974 entry “It’s Worth the Hurt” was eclipsed by George’s across-the-board triumph “Rock Your Baby,” a track originally slated for Gwen and widely viewed as the harbinger of disco’s mainstream arrival. The spotlight shifted to Gwen the next year when she carried the suggestive Reid/Clarke song “Rockin’ Chair” to the summit of the R&B listings and into the pop Top Ten. Capitalizing on the momentum, she issued her debut long-player, also titled Rockin’ Chair, and followed with further R&B successes “Love Insurance” and “Cradle of Love.”

Mounting individual achievements began to strain the McCraes’ marriage—Gwen would later claim frequent physical mistreatment by her spouse. Their 1976 duet “Winners Together, Losers Apart” missed the R&B Top 40, and a complete album of joint recordings failed to mend the rift. The couple parted later that year, after which Gwen achieved what proved to be her final Cat chart entry, “Damn Right It’s Good.” Although the 1978 LP Let’s Straighten It Out showed strong effort, commercial traction faded; nevertheless, the 1979 single “All This Love That I’m Giving” later found favor on Britain’s Northern soul circuit, even if it drew scant notice at home. As the broader T.K. enterprise faced deepening financial woes, McCrae relocated to New Jersey and joined Atlantic in 1980. That association yielded the albums Gwen McCrae and On My Way along with several collector-favored singles such as “Funky Sensation,” “Poyson,” and “Keep the Fire Burning.” Sensing inadequate promotion, she returned to Florida, released a lone 1984 single titled “Do You Know What I Mean” on the small Black Jack label, and withdrew from the industry.

During the 1980s British Northern soul and rare-groove enthusiasts revived interest in her catalog, leading her to England for a pair of Rhythm King singles in 1987. Encouraged by continued U.K. support, she recorded the full-length Girlfriend’s Boyfriend for the British Homegrown label in 1996. Back in the States she aligned with the reactivated Goldwax imprint, distributed through Ichiban, and delivered Psychic Hot Line later that same year. Ichiban reissued Girlfriend’s Boyfriend domestically in 1998. McCrae resurfaced in 1999 with Still Rockin’, which drew positive notices within blues and classic-soul circles.