George McCrae

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George McCrae
Birth name	George McCrae
Born	October 19, 1944 (1944-10-19) (age 63) West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.A.
Occupation(s)	singer
Instrument(s)	vocals
Years active	since 1963
Label(s)	Alston Records TK Records
Associated acts	Gwen McCrae KC and the Sunshine Band
Website	http://www.georgemccrae.com

George McCrae (born 19 October 1944 at West Palm Beach, Florida) is a soul singer most famous for his 1974 hit "Rock Your Baby" released on the independent TK Records label based in Hialeah, Florida.

McCrae formed his own singing group, the Jivin' Jets, before joining the U.S. Navy in 1963. Four years later, 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 & Harry Wayne Casey of KC and the Sunshine Band invited him to sing the lyrics for a song that they had recorded for the band but couldn't reach the high notes that were required for the song. When he sang the song and hit the high-pitch notes, Finch & Casey knew it was going to be a big hit for George. So the boys offered it to him and the rest is history. 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., UK, and over 80 other countries.

The song was so successful that Rolling Stone Magazine voted it the #1 song of the year, back in 1974. George received a Grammy nomination for Best Male R&B Vocalist the following year. Two further single releases, I Can't Leave You Alone and I Get Lifted also reached the UK Singles Chart Top 10, but he had much less success with follow-ups in the U.S. McCrae also contributed uncredited vocals to KC and the Sunshine Band's hit "Queen of Clubs".

He continued to record with and manage his wife until their divorce, and also continued to record and tour through the 1980s in his own right, particularly in Europe where he remained popular. He now lives in Aruba in the Caribbean. George's daughter Marcella was the finialist of the German singer and dancer casting show Popstars.