George McCrae
Encyclopedia
George McCrae is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...

 and disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...

 singer, most famous for his 1974 hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...

 "Rock Your Baby
Rock Your Baby
"Rock Your Baby" is a popular song by George McCrae. Written and produced by Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch of KC and the Sunshine Band, "Rock Your Baby" was one of the landmark recordings of early disco music...

".

Early life and career

McCrae was born in West Palm Beach
West Palm Beach, Florida
West Palm Beach, is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and is the most populous city in and county seat of Palm Beach County, the third most populous county in Florida with a 2010 population of 1,320,134. The city is also the oldest incorporated municipality in South Florida...

, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

. formed his own singing group
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...

, the Jivin' Jets, before joining the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 in 1963. Four years later, he reformed the group, with his wife Gwen
Gwen McCrae
Gwen McCrae is an American R&B singer, best known for her March, 1975 hit "Rockin' Chair".-Career:...

 joining the line-up, but soon afterwards they decided to work as a duo
Duet (music)
A duet is a musical composition for two performers. In classical music, the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word duo is also often used. A piece performed by two pianists performing together on the same piano is referred to as...

, recording
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...

 for Henry Stone
Henry Stone
Henry Stone is an American record company executive and producer whose career spans the era from R&B in the early 1950s through the disco boom of the 1970s to the present day. He is best known as co-owner and president of TK Records....

's Alston record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...

. Gwen then won a solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...

 contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...

, with George acting as her manager
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...

 as well as doing some singing on sessions and in clubs
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...

.

He was about to return to college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...

 to study law enforcement, when Richard Finch
Richard Finch (musician)
Richard Finch , is an American composer, producer, engineer, and song arranger. He is best known as the co-founder, producer and former bass player of KC and the Sunshine Band...

 and Harry Wayne Casey
Harry Wayne Casey
Harry Wayne "K.C." Casey is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and producer. He is most famous for his group, KC and the Sunshine Band, and as a producer of several hits for other artists.-Early years:...

 of KC and the Sunshine Band
KC and the Sunshine Band
KC and the Sunshine Band is an American musical group. Founded in 1973 in Miami, Florida, their style has included funk, R&B, and disco. Their most well known songs include the disco hits "That's the Way ", " Shake Your Booty", "I'm Your Boogie Man", "Keep It Comin' Love", "Get Down Tonight", "Give...

 invited him to sing the lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...

 for a song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...

 that they had recorded for the band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...

, but could not reach the high notes that were required for the song. In fact the original intention was that Gwen, his wife, should record it, but she was late for the session and George recorded alone. It suited his high-pitched voice
Human voice
The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its frequency ranges from about 60 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary...

 to the extent that the song, "Rock Your Baby", became one of the first hits
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...

 of the disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...

 era in 1974, selling an estimated eleven million copies worldwide, topping the charts
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....

 in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, and eighty other countries.

The song was so successful that Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...

magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...

 voted it the #1 song of the year in 1974. McCrae received a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

 nomination for Best Male R&B Vocalist the following year. Two further single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 releases, "I Can't Leave You Alone" and "It's Been So Long" also reached the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

 Top 10, but he had much less success with follow-ups in the US.

He continued to record with, and manage his wife until their divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...

 in 1976. McCrae's fortunes slipped as the decade progressed.

McCrae continued to record and tour through the 1980s in his own right, particularly in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 where he remained popular.

The indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...

 band Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo, sometimes abbreviated as YLT, is an American alternative rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan , Georgia Hubley , and James McNew .Despite achieving limited mainstream success, Yo La Tengo has been called "the quintessential...

 covered
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

 the song "You Can Have It All" on their 2000 album, And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out
And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out
And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out is the ninth studio album by Yo La Tengo, an alternative rock music group from Hoboken, New Jersey. The album was released in February 2000 by Matador Records...

.

2009 saw the release of a new album called Time For A Change with the accompanying single, "It's Been So Long".

Personal life

Since 1989 McCrae has been married to his Dutch wife Yvonne Bergsma. He lives one part of the year on Aruba
Aruba
Aruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km east of Guajira Peninsula...

 and the other part of the year in the village of Munstergeleen
Munstergeleen
Munstergeleen is a village in the Dutch province of Limburg. It is located in the municipality of Sittard-Geleen, and it lies in the Western Mine Region .-History:...

 in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

.

Albums

  • Rock Your Baby - 1974 - U.S.
    United States
    The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

     Black Albums
    Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
    Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999...

     #7, US Pop Albums
    Billboard 200
    The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

     #38, UK Albums Chart
    UK Albums Chart
    The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...

     13
  • George McCrae - 1975 - US Black Albums #24, US Pop Albums #152, UK #54
  • Together Again - 1975 - US Black Albums #33
  • Diamond Touch - 1976
  • We Did It - 1979
  • One Step Closer - 1984
  • Love's Been Good To Me - 1985
  • I Feel Love For You - 1987
  • Diamond Collection - 1991
  • With All My Heart - 1991
  • Golden Classics - 1993
  • Music Mirror - 1993
  • Do Something - 1995
  • Romance - 1996
  • Time For A Change - 2009

Singles

Year Title US Black Singles Chart
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...

US Billboard Pop Singles Chart
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

1974 "Rock Your Baby
Rock Your Baby
"Rock Your Baby" is a popular song by George McCrae. Written and produced by Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch of KC and the Sunshine Band, "Rock Your Baby" was one of the landmark recordings of early disco music...

"
#1
#1
#1
1974 "I Can't Leave You Alone"
#10
#50
#9
1974 "You Can Have It All"
-
-
#23
1975 "Sing A Happy Song"
-
-
#38
1975 "It's Been So Long"
-
-
#4
1975 "I Ain't Lyin'"
#31
-
#12
1975 "I Get Lifted"
#8
#37
-
1975 "Look at You"
#31
#95
-
1976 "Honey I"
#18
#65
#33
1976 "Winners Together or Losers Apart"
#44
-
-
1977 "Kiss Me the Way I Like It"
#57
-
-
1977 "Love in Motion" / "Cut the Rug" / "Givin' Back the Feeling"
-
-
-
1979 "Don't You Feel My Love"
-
-
-
1984 "One Step Closer (To Love)"
-
-
#57

See also


External links

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