American soul and disco singer Gwen McRae has died aged 81.
While mainstream success eluded the singer, many of her recordings became DJ favourites decades after they were released. She was a mainstay of the UK’s Northern Soul scene, and her work was also heavily sampled by dance music producers.
1981’s Funky Sensation stayed on dance floors for decades, while another song 90% of me is you, which began life as a B-side, also proved eternally popular.
The singer got a record contract alongside her husband George McRae in 1960s, and they both went on to make their mark on the music charts.
Gwen McRae was the first person to a release a recording of the song Always on Mind, while her 1972 recording was not a hit, but it was a huge success for Elvis Presley the same year. It was later transformed into a dance tune by British duo Pet Shop Boys.
McRae’s biggest chart success came with Rockin’ Chair, written as a reply to a song her husband had found success with. He sang backing vocals on her recording. The song was a number 1 hit on the US Billboard R&B chart, and a number nine hit on the Hot 100.
In 1983 she recorded a version of Do You Know What I Mean, a song first recorded by Australian singer Renee Geyer. McRae’s version saw her return briefly to the US charts.
George McRae found chart success with songs written by Richard Finch and Harry Wayne Casey, the team behind KC and the Sunshine Band. He’s remembered for his hits I Get Lifted and Rock Me Baby. The couple divorced in 1976.
In the late 1980s Gwen McRae signed to UK dance label Rhythm King and found a new audience in dance clubs and the rave scene where cut and paste vocals from long forgotten soul and disco records were common.
French artist Cassius had a Top 20 hit with Feeling for You in 1999 which features samples of McRae’s vocals, while rap DJ Madlib also sampled McRae for his tine Gamble on Ya Boy.
