More Info on George McCraeSimilar Undetermined MusicSearch Artistopia
Biography
Other peopleInfobox musical artist | name = George McCrae| image =| caption =| image_size =| background = solo_singer| birth_name =| alias =| birth_date = birth date and age|mf=y|1944|10|19|birth_place = West Palm Beach, Florida|West Palm Beach , Florida , United States|U.S. | death_date =| origin =| instrument = Human voice|Vocals | genre = Soul music|Soul , disco | occupation = Singing|Singer | years_active = 1969& ndash;present| label = Alston, TK Records|TK , RCA Records|RCA , Jayboy, President Records|President | associated_acts = Gwen McCrae KC and the Sunshine Band | website = http://www.georgemccrae.com georgemccrae.com| current_members =| past_members =| notable_instruments = George McCrae (born October 19, 1944) is an United States|American soul music|soul and disco singing|singer , most famous for his 1974 hit record|hit " Rock Your Baby ".
Early life and career
McCrae was born in West Palm Beach, Florida|West Palm Beach , Florida . He formed his own singing musical ensemble|group , the Jivin' Jets, before joining the United States Navy in 1963. Four years later, he reformed the group, with his wife Gwen McCrae|Gwen joining the line-up, but soon afterwards they decided to work as a duet (music)|duo , sound recording and reproduction|recording for Henry Stone 's Alston record label . Gwen then won a solo (music)|solo recording contract|contract , with George acting as her management|manager as well as doing some singing on sessions and in nightclub|clubs .
He was about to return to college to study law enforcement, when Richard Finch (musician)|Richard Finch and Harry Wayne Casey of KC and the Sunshine Band invited him to sing the lyrics for a song that they had recorded for the musical ensemble|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 human voice|voice to the extent that the song, "Rock Your Baby", became one of the first hit record|hits of the disco era in 1974, selling an estimated eleven million copies worldwide,cite book | first= Joseph | last= Murrells | year= 1978 | title= The Book of Golden Discs | edition= 2nd | publisher= Barrie and Jenkins Ltd | location= London | page= 347 | isbn= 0-214-20512-6 chart-topper|topping the record chart|charts in the United States|U.S. , United Kingdom|UK , and eighty other countries.
The song was so successful that Rolling Stone magazine voted it the #1 song of the year in 1974. http://www.georgemccrae.com/biography.html Georgemccrae.com McCrae received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Male R& B Vocalist the following year. Two further single (music)|single releases, "I Can't Leave You Alone" and "It's Been So Long" also reached the UK Singles Chart Top 40|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 in 1976.Citation needed|date=November 2008 McCrae's fortunes slipped as the decade progressed.cite web |first= |last= |url=Allmusic|class=artist|id=p4866|pure_url=yes |title=Biography by Bill Dahl |publisher=Allmusic.com |accessdate=18 February 2009
McCrae continued to record and concert tour|tour through the 1980s in his own right, particularly in Europe , where he remained popular.
The indie rock band Yo La Tengo cover version|covered the song "You Can Have It All" on their 2000 album, And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out .
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 and the other part of the year in the village of Munstergeleen in the Netherlands .
Discography
Albums
Rock Your Baby - 1974 - United States|U.S. Top R& B/Hip-Hop Albums|Black Albums #7, Billboard 200|US Pop Albums #38, 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
cite book | first= David | last= Roberts | year= 2006 | title= British Hit Singles & Albums | edition= 19th | publisher= Guinness World Records Limited | location= London | isbn= 1-904994-10-5 | pages= 338 Allmusic|class=artist|id=p4866|pure_url=yes Allmusic.com - Charts & Awards (albums)
Singles
Year
Title
class=artist
US Billboard Pop Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
1974
" Rock Your Baby "
#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
List of soul musicians
List of disco artists (F-K)
List of artists who reached number one in the United States
List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
List of performers on Top of the Pops
List of artists who reached number one on the Billboard R& B chart
List of Epic Records artists
References
Reflist
External links
http://www.georgemccrae.com Home page
http://www.baltic-soul.de George McCrae Live in Europe
Persondata| NAME =McCrae, George | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH =October 19, 1944 | PLACE OF BIRTH = West Palm Beach, Florida|West Palm Beach , Florida , United States|U.S. | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:McCrae, George Category:1944 births Category:Living people Category:African American musicians Category:American male singers Category:American soul singers Category:Musicians from Florida Category:People from West Palm Beach, Florida Category:People from Miami, Florida
