Gwen McCrae

Gwendolyn Patricia McCrae (née Mosley, December 21, 1943 – February 21, 2025) was an American singer. She is best known for her 1975 hit "Rockin' Chair", which reached number one on the Billboard Hot R&B chart and number nine on the Billboard Hot 100. Known across Europe as the "Queen of Rare Groove", McCrae's gospel, soul, disco, and funk vocals have been heavily sampled in dance music, including songs by Cassius, Madlib, Lady Gaga, Avicii, and Mobb Deep. The New York Times has credited her early 1970s hits as paving the way for disco music. She performed regularly in Europe until 2012, when a stroke paralyzed the left side of her body.

Gwendolyn Patricia Mosley was born on December 21, 1943, in Pensacola, Florida, the youngest of five children. She and her siblings were raised by their mother, Winnie Mosley (née Lee), after the early death of their father, Aaron Mosley. She started singing in church at the age of seven and performed in clubs as a teenager with local groups such as the Lafayettes and the Independents. In 1963, she met a young sailor named George McCrae, whom she married within a week. The couple had two children together, Sophia and Leah, and she had two children from other relationships, Wanda and Alex.

Gwen and George McCrae formed a duo called George & Gwen in 1963 and began recording in 1967, when George returned home from the Navy. With the help of singer Betty Wright, they signed a record contract with Alston Records, a subsidiary of Henry Stone and Steve Alaimo's TK Records. Not long after, McCrae switched to Columbia Records to record southern soul music due to the duo's moderate success. When her soul endeavor was met with similar success, she returned to Alston Records to record lighter disco music that was characterized by a "Miami sound".

Signed to TK subsidiary Cat Records as a solo artist, she released a cover of Bobby Bland's "Lead Me On" in 1970, which peaked at 32 on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart. In 1972, she recorded the song "Always on My Mind", which was covered by numerous artists, including Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson, and the Pet Shop Boys. Her 1973 song "For Your Love" reached number 17 on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart.

Following husband George's solo success with "Rock Your Baby" in 1974, McCrae went on to have a major hit of her own in March 1975 with "Rockin' Chair", which reached number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart. Music critic Robert Christgau said "Rockin' Chair" is "almost as irresistibly Memphis-cum-disco-with-a-hook as hubby's 'Rock Your Baby.'" The follow-up single "Love Insurance" also made the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart, peaking at number 16. In 1976, she and husband George recorded an album called "Together", on which The New York Times remarked that they "sound more like strangers than loving husband and wife". Because of their competing careers, they divorced that same year.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.