Biography
Vocalist Rae Harrison cut the sides “Git Wid It,” “Love Me,” and “Me Too” during the early 1970s, titles whose spellings never endeared her to educators. Those obscure performances stand out both as echoes of pre-rock recording aesthetics and as releases on a performer-run imprint, a move then gaining traction across the jazz world. All three tracks appeared on the Gemini label, the concern operated by longtime bandleader Sam Wooding, who also composed every selection Harrison waxed for the company. The records were originally issued under the billing Rae Harrison & the 3 Gems and featured backing from the Larry Lucie Orchestra.
Arrangements for the sessions were commissioned by Joe Davis, already fifty years into his music-industry career by the time he compensated Lucie. Harrison’s own professional ties to Wooding spanned a quarter century, dating back to the 1950s. Before that association she had worked with pianist Tadd Dameron; together, in the late 1940s, they devised the striking scat variant they titled “Casbah.” Early in her career she appeared under the name Rae Pearl. In later decades Harrison devoted herself to finishing and readying Wooding’s memoirs for publication.
Arrangements for the sessions were commissioned by Joe Davis, already fifty years into his music-industry career by the time he compensated Lucie. Harrison’s own professional ties to Wooding spanned a quarter century, dating back to the 1950s. Before that association she had worked with pianist Tadd Dameron; together, in the late 1940s, they devised the striking scat variant they titled “Casbah.” Early in her career she appeared under the name Rae Pearl. In later decades Harrison devoted herself to finishing and readying Wooding’s memoirs for publication.