Gwen McCrae -

Gwen McCrae (born Dec. 21, 1943) is an American soul singer who first performed and recorded during the 1960s with then-husband George McCrae. As a solo singer, she cut multiple singles for Columbia and Cat during the 1970s. Her first album, Rockin’ Chair, spawned a charting hit with the moaning title-track.

McCrae was born Gwen Mosley on December 21, 1943, in Pensacola, Florida. As a teenager, she performed at local clubs in a sequence of vocal groups (The Lafayettes, The Independents).

In 1963, she met bluejacket George McCrae (b. 1944), whom she married the following week. After performing as a duo for several years, they were discovered by teenage singer Betty Wright, who brought them to the attention of Miami soul-press Alston Records. The pair cut three singles on Alston in 1969/70: “Like Yesterday Our Love Is Gone” (b/w “Stranded in This Broken Heart of Mine”), “Three Hearts in a Tangle” (b/w “One of These Days”), and “No One Left to Come Home.”

In 1970, Gwen commenced he solo career with George as her manager. She first signed to Columbia and issued five 1970–72 singles, charting with a cover of “Lead Me On” by Bobby Bland. In 1972, she cut the first rendition of “You Were Always On My Mind,” later made famous by Elvis Presley and Willie Nelson. She next signed with TK-subsidiary Cat, where she issued 12 singles between 1973 and 1979, starting with a cover of the 1957 Ed Townshend hit “For Your Love.”

In 1974, George had an unexpected #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Rock Your Baby,” set to a backing track by KC & the Sunshine Band. Gwen was originally slated to sing the track but failed to appear on the day of the session.

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