He is a soul singer born in West Palm Beach, Florida,
as the second of nine children to a policeman.He started singing in church when he was six years old
and in high school performed with their glee club.In the early 1960s he founded the
Jivin' Jets but in 1963 went into the US Navy, returning four years later
to re-unite them.His wife,
Gwen, became an extra member but before long they left the group to become
a duo and released several recordings.He then became Gwens manager when she decided to set
out on a solo career and during that time he could be heard session singing
and making club appearances.He decided to return to education and study law but before he got
the chance Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch, who were in KC and the
Sunshine Band, approached him and asked him to record the lyrics of a song
that they had done for their own release, but couldn't reach the higher
notes.He sang the song
admirably, hitting all the notes, and they gave it to him to record in his
own right.This song was "Rock
Your Baby" which became his first hit, sold over 11 million copies
worldwide, reached No. 1 in 82 countries and catapulted him to stardom in
1974, making him one of the first artists to have a disco hit.He followed it with many further
releases but never reached the same heights in the charts again, even
though having been Grammy nominated for Best R&B Vocalist in 1975,
having been named the spearhead of the "Miami Sound" and having received
two platinum singles and two platinum and 14 gold albums.Always a busy artist, he regularly
toured Europe and the United States up until the 1980s, appeared as a
session singer on hits like "Queen of Clubs" by KC and the Sunshine Band,
and managed his wife throughout her career until their divorce.His numerous solo albums include Rock
Your Baby, Together Again, Music Mirror and George McCrae.He currently lives in the Caribbean
island of Aruba but still records and tours, releasing a single in 2003 and
further albums, and his daughter Marcella appears on the German show Popstars.
George McCrae recordings
It's Been So Long (Harry Wayne Casey/Richard
Finch)
