Gwen McCrae

Gwendolyn Patricia Mosley was born on December 21, 1943, in Pensacola, Florida, the youngest of five children.{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/gwen-mccrae-mn0000651549/biography|title=Artist Biography|first=Steve|last=Huey|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=February 19, 2009}}{{cite web|title=Gwen McCrae Page|url=http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/Gwen%20McCrae.html|website=Soulwalking.co.uk|access-date=January 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021225054140/http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/Gwen%20McCrae.html|archive-date=December 25, 2002}}{{cite web|author=Maria Granditsky|url=https://ftp2.grandis.nu/funkyflyy/gwen.html|title=Gwen McCrae interview (Part 1)}}{{cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/08/arts/music/gwen-mccrae-dead.html|title = Gwen McCrae, Singer Who Helped Open the Dance Floor to Disco, Dies at 81|last = Risen|first = Clay|date = March 8, 2025|accessdate = March 8, 2025|newspaper = The New York Times|url-access = limited}} She and her siblings were raised by their mother after the early death of their father. Mosley began performing in local clubs as a teenager, and singing with local groups like 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, and she had two children from other relationships.

Gwen and George McCrae began recording as a duo; the couple got a recording contract with Henry Stone's TK Records. In 1967, singer Betty Wright helped get them signed to Stone's Alston record label.

Signed to TK subsidiary Cat, as a solo artist, she found success on the U.S. R&B charts with a cover of Bobby Bland's "Lead Me On" in 1970, followed by "For Your Love". Following husband George's solo success with "Rock Your Baby", Gwen went on to have a major hit of her own in March 1975 with "Rockin' Chair" which reached number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached number one on the R&B chart. The follow-up "Love Insurance" also made the R&B chart (#16). Music critic Robert Christgau said "Rockin' Chair" is "almost as irresistibly Memphis-cum-disco-with-a-hook as hubby's 'Rock Your Baby.'"{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1981|title=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|publisher=Ticknor & Fields|isbn=089919026X|chapter=Consumer Guide '70s: M|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=M&bk=70|access-date=March 7, 2019|via=robertchristgau.com}}

In 1972, she recorded the song "Always on My Mind". The song was later popularized by Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson, and the Pet Shop Boys and also covered by several other artists.{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-04-24-ca-2418-story.html |last=Hilburn|first=Robert|authorlink=Robert Hilburn|date=April 24, 1988|title=The Surprising Saga of 'Always on My Mind'|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|access-date=January 12, 2022}}

After TK Records collapsed, McCrae moved to New Jersey and signed with Atlantic Records, recording two albums and saw one of her singles, "Funky Sensation", reach #22 on the R&B chart in 1981.{{cite web|title=Classic Soul - Gwen McCrae|url=http://www.soul-patrol.com/soul/gwenmccrae.htm|access-date=January 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040225113530/http://www.soul-patrol.com/soul/gwenmccrae.htm|archive-date=February 25, 2004}} In 1982, she had a moderate R&B hit with "Keep the Fire Burning". She continued to record and some of her earlier recordings on the UK's Northern Soul scene maintained her popularity as a live act in Europe. McCrae moved back to the United States, to Florida, recorded a one-off single for the small Black Jack label in 1984 called "Do You Know What I Mean", and then temporarily retired from the music industry.

McCrae traveled to the UK to record a couple of singles for Rhythm King Records in 1987. She also recorded an album for a British label called Homegrown Records in 1996, titled Girlfriend's Boyfriend. Upon returning to the U.S., she signed with the revived Goldwax label, distributed by Ichiban Records, and recorded another album, Psychic Hot Line.

In 1999, the French house music duo Cassius released the single "Feeling for You", which sampled the vocals of McCrae's "All This Love That I'm Giving". It was a Top 20 hit on the UK Singles Chart.{{cite book|first=David|last=Roberts|year=2006|title=British Hit Singles & Albums|edition=19th|publisher=Guinness World Records Limited|location=London, UK|isbn=1-904994-10-5|page=97}} The track also appeared on Cassius' album, 1999. In 1999, her single "Funky Sensation" was sampled in the German single "Get Up," by DJ Thomilla featuring Afrob.

In 2004, McCrae released her first gospel album. In 2008, rap DJ and producer Madlib released his album, WLIB AM: King of the Wigflip which includes the song "Gamble on Ya Boy", based on a "I Found Love" sample, from McCrae's album, Melody of Life.{{citation needed|date=January 2016}}

In 2005, McCrae teamed up with the Soulpower organization,{{cite web|title=A review of Gwen McRae feat Soulpower All-Stars|url=https://www.soul-source.co.uk/articles/soul-articles/a-review-of-gwen-mcrae-feat-soulpower-all-stars-r445/|website=Soul Source|access-date=January 12, 2022|date=June 24, 2005}} which is also responsible for the comebacks of Marva Whitney, Lyn Collins, Martha High, Bobby Byrd and RAMP. Her collaboration with Soulpower resulted in various live performances with the Soulpower All-Stars.

In 2007, she appeared on several songs on Sounding Rick’s “Living in the Acoustic Projects” and again on his 2009 album “Blabbermouth”.

Gwen McCrae released her latest single "Now I Found Love" in December 2010, released through Plain Truth Entertainment. "Now I Found Love" was mixed and produced by Steve Sola and composed by David Seagal.{{citation needed|date=January 2016}}

In June 2012, after performing on stage in England, she had a stroke which resulted in paralysis on the left side of her body and the inability to walk.{{cite magazine|last1=Rizik|first1=Chris|title=Gwen McCrae - Biography|url=https://www.soultracks.com/gwen_mccrae.htm|magazine=SoulTracks|date=May 5, 2007 |access-date=January 12, 2022}}{{cite news|title=Funky Sensation: An All-Star Benefit for Gwen McCrae |newspaper=Time Out New York |url=https://www.timeout.com/newyork/clubs/funky-sensation-an-all-star-benefit-for-gwen-mccrae|access-date=January 12, 2022|date=August 9, 2012}}

McCrae died at a care home in Miami on February 21, 2025, at the age of 81.{{cite news |title=R.I.P. soul and disco star Gwen McCrae |url=https://soultracks.com/news-gwen-mccrae-dies/ |access-date=February 21, 2025 |publisher=Soul Tracks |date=February 21, 2025}}

• List of soul musicians
• List of disco artists (F–K)
• List of acts who appeared on American Bandstand
• List of artists who reached number one on the Billboard R&B chart
• List of 1970s one-hit wonders in the United States

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• {{IMDb name| 2456541}}
• {{Discogs artist}}
• [http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xc4eqa_35-gwen-mc-crae-l-interview-live-w_music Gwen McCrae video interview]

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Category:1943 births

Category:2025 deaths

Category:20th-century African-American women singers

Category:American dance musicians

Category:American soul singers

Category:Atlantic Records artists

Category:Columbia Records artists

Category:Musicians from Pensacola, Florida

Category:Singers from Florida

Category:20th-century American singers

Category:21st-century American singers

Category:20th-century American women singers

Category:American disco singers

Category:American rhythm and blues singers

Category:21st-century American women singers

Category:21st-century African-American women singers