Gwen McCrae was a soul, funk, and disco singer best known for her 1975 hit, “Rockin’ Chair.”
- Died: February 21, 2025 (Who else died on February 21?)
- Details of death: Died at the age of 81.
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Gwen McCrae’s legacy
McCrae’s biggest hit, “Rockin’ Chair,” was an answer song to a previous hit – one that she would have liked to sing. “Rock Your Baby” was recorded by her then-husband, George McCrae, in 1974, and it soared to top the charts that summer. She had originally intended to be the one who recorded it for TK Records. Reports differ on why she didn’t; some say she was late for the recording session, while McCrae herself said she asked producers to give her husband a potential hit to record, and that was the one they chose. Though she regretted not having the chance to record “Rock Your Baby,” she answered its success the following year with her own hit, which topped Billboard’s R&B chart and made it to the top 10 of the Hot 100.
Though “Rockin’ Chair” was by far McCrae’s best-selling hit, it was just one of many songs she recorded in a long and rich career. An interesting footnote came with one of her earlier recordings. In 1972, she released the single “You Were Always on My Mind,” later retitled “Always on My Mind” by such artists as Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson, and the Pet Shop Boys, all of whom had hits with the song. McCrae was the first to release a version of it.
McCrae’s other moderate successes included “For Your Love,” “Love Insurance,” and “Funky Sensation.” As her popularity waned in the U.S. in the 1980s, she found her music discovered by the Rare Groove movement in the U.K., which prizes relatively obscure soul tracks. McCrae was embraced by overseas listeners and became known as the “Queen of Rare Groove.” In later years, she toured in Europe, as well as in the United States.
Notable quote
“The only time I’m really happy is when I’m on that stage. In front of my audience. Then I’m the happiest woman in the world. And there is nothing that nobody can say or do to make me unhappy, because I’m doing just what the Lord wants me to do; satisfy the people. Not the people that you recorded for and all of that. Satisfy that audience, ’cause they’re the ones that love you, they’re the ones that buy your records.” — from a 1996 interview for Miss Funkyflyy’s Web Pages
Tributes to Gwen McCrae
Full obituary: Soul Tracks
