"Rock Your Baby" was a popular song by George McCrae. Written and produced by Harry Wayne 'KC' Casey and Richard Finch of KC & The Sunshine Band, "Rock Your Baby" was one of the landmark recordings of early disco music. A massive international hit, the song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the United States, spending two weeks at the top in July 1974, as well as number one on the R&B singles chart. It is one of the fewer than thirty all-time singles to have sold 10 million (or more) copies worldwide. The backing track for the record had been recorded in 45 minutes as a demo, and featured guitarist Jerome Smith (June 18, 1953 -- July 28, 2000) of KC & The Sunshine Band. The track was not originally intended for McCrae, but he happened to be in the studio, added a vocal, and the resultant combination of infectious rhythm and falsetto vocals made it a hit. "Rock Your Baby" inspired the drum part in the ABBA hit "Dancing Queen". The hit song also later inspired the reply hit "Rockin' Chair" sung by Gwen McCrae (then-wife of George McCrae) released one year later on TK's Cat subsidiary label with similar music and arrangement. George McCrae was born in West Palm Beach, Florida on October 19, 1944. He formed his own singing group, The Jivin' Jets, before joining the United States Navy in 1963. Four years later after his enlistment, he reformed the group, with his wife Gwen joining the line-up, but soon afterwards they decided to work as a duo, recording for Henry Stone's Alston record label. Gwen then won a solo contract, with George acting as her manager as well as doing some singing on sessions and in clubs. He was about to return to college to study law enforcement, when Richard Finch and Harry Wayne 'KC' Casey of KC & The Sunshine Band invited him to sing the lyrics for a song that they had recorded for the band, 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 to the extent that the song, "Rock Your Baby", became one of the first hits of the disco era in 1974, selling an estimated eleven million copies worldwide, topping the charts in the U.S., U.K., and eighty other countries. The song was so successful that Rolling Stone magazine voted it the #1 song of the year in 1974. McCrae received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Male R&B Vocalist the following year. Two further single releases, "I Can't Leave You Alone" and "It's Been So Long" also reached the U.K. Singles Chart Top 10, but he had much less success with follow-ups in the U.S. He continued to record with, and manage, his wife until their divorce in 1976. McCrae's fortunes in the U.S. slipped as the decade progressed. However, McCrae continued to record and tour through the 1980s in his own right, particularly in Europe, where he remained popular. Since 1989, McCrae has been married to his Dutch wife Yvonne Bergsma. He lives one part of the year on the Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba and the other part of the year in the village of Munstergeleen in The Netherlands. This channel is dedicated to all the great 'old school' R&B music I grew up with, the stuff that originally made me tap my feet and want to be a DJ. Funk, soul, disco, R&B, dance, hip-hop, pop . . . 60s, 70s, 80s . . . whatever you call it, it's all 'Old School' and it's all here!
See my videos featuring the Roots of Rap at:
www.youtube.com/DJBuddyLoveRootsRap
If you like relaxing with some classic Cool Jazz, go to:
www.youtube.com/DJBuddyLoveCoolJazz
If you love jamming to some great Classic Rock, check out:
www.youtube.com/DJBuddyLoveClassicRR
If you like college football & other aspects of life at The Ohio State University, go to:
www.youtube.com/DJBuddyLoveBuckeyes
Check out my newer music videos and other fun stuff at:
www.youtube.com/DJBuddyLove3000
Check out my news videography stuff at:
www.youtube.com/VonReganDavis
Also, check out my youngest daughter (the world's youngest video producer) at:
www.youtube.com/DaddyzGirl3000
To stay updated about all my projects, please 'Like' my Facebook fan page:
www.facebook.com/pages/DJ-Buddy-Love/114720773004?ref=sgm
And coming in 2012 . . .
DJ Buddy Love presents LONGEVITY . . .
A world record club DJ mixing marathon charity event . . .
121 hours nonstop to benefit cancer research . . .
Live to the world via UStream, Facebook, YouTube & Twitter . . .
More details coming soon . . .
Enjoy!!
;~}
Copyright 1974 TK Records
All Rights Reserved
Home » プレイリスト » Youtube » Rock Your Baby - George McCrae (1974)