Rock Your Baby

"Rock Your Baby"
Single by George McCrae
from the album Rock Your Baby
B-side "Rock Your Baby (Part 2)"
Released June 1974
Format 7-inch single
Recorded 1973
Genre Disco
Length 3:14 (7" version)
6:24 (album version)
Label TK Records, Jay Boy (UK)[1]
Songwriter(s) Harry Wayne Casey, Richard Finch
Producer(s) Harry Wayne Casey, Richard Finch

"Rock Your Baby" is the debut single by George McCrae. Written and produced by Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch of KC and the Sunshine Band, "Rock Your Baby" was one of the landmark recordings of early disco music. A massive international hit, the song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the United States, spending two weeks at the top in July 1974, number one on the R&B singles chart,[2] and repeating the feat on the UK Singles Chart, spending three weeks at the top of the chart in July 1974.[3][4] Having sold 11 million copies, it is one of the fewer than 40 all-time singles to have sold 10 million (or more) physical copies worldwide.[5][6]

The backing track for the record was recorded in 45 minutes as a demo and featured guitarist Jerome Smith of KC and the Sunshine Band, with Casey on keyboards and Finch on bass and drums.[7] It was also one of the first records to use a drum machine,[8] an early Roland rhythm machine.[9] The track was not originally intended for McCrae but he happened to be in the studio, added a vocal and the resulting combination of infectious rhythm and falsetto vocals made it a hit.

The chord progression of John Lennon's number one single "Whatever Gets You thru the Night", released a few months later, bears a great resemblance to the one found in "Rock Your Baby". Lennon later admitted to using the song as an inspiration.[10] ABBA's Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus have also cited the song as an inspiration for the backing track of their 1976 smash hit "Dancing Queen". The song was covered by indie rock band The House of Love for the 1992 compilation album Ruby Trax[11] and in the same year by British dance group KWS, whose cover of 'Rock Your Baby' reached #8 in the UK charts that year.

Chart performance

Answer song

George's wife, Gwen McCrae, recorded an answer song to "Rock Your Baby," released just less than a year later. "Rockin' Chair" reached number nine on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 during the summer of 1975. "Rockin' Chair' also reached number one R&B. George provided backing vocals on the song.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Rock Your Baby". 45cat.com. Retrieved September 29, 2012.
  2. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 389.
  3. 1 2 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 303. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  4. 1 2 "George McCrae - UK Chart". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  5. ↑ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2, illustrated ed.). Barrie & Jenkins. ISBN 0-214-20480-4.
  6. ↑ Moore-Gilbert, Bart (March 11, 2002). The Arts in the 1970s: Cultural Closure. Routledge. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
  7. ↑ Jim Melanson, Sara Lane, "Weird Mix Jells For No.1 Single", Billboard, August 10, 1974, p.20
  8. ↑ Martin Russ (2012), Sound Synthesis and Sampling, page 83, CRC Press
  9. ↑ Mike Collins (2014), In the Box Music Production: Advanced Tools and Techniques for Pro Tools, page 320, CRC Press
  10. ↑ John Lennon: Listen to This Book - John Blaney - Google Books. Books.google.com. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
  11. ↑ Carlson, Dean. "Ruby Trax: The NME's Roaring 40". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  12. ↑ "George McCrae - Austrian chart". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  13. ↑ "George McCrae - Belgian Chart". ultratop.be. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  14. ↑ "George McCrae - Dutch chart". dutchcharts.nl. 8 February 2015.
  15. ↑ "George McCrae - German Chart". officialcharts.de. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  16. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Rock Your Baby". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  17. ↑ "George McCrae - New Zealand Chart". charts.org.nz. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  18. ↑ "George McCrae - Norwegian chart". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  19. ↑ "George McCrae - Swedish chart". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  20. ↑ "George McCrae - Swiss chart". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  21. ↑ "George McCrae - US Hot 100". billboard.com. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  22. ↑ "George McCrae | Awards". AllMusic. 1944-10-19. Retrieved 2015-08-27.
  23. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 158.
  24. ↑ Cash Box Top 100 Singles, July 20, 1974
  25. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (doc)|format= requires |url= (help). Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  26. ↑ Canada, Library and Archives (July 13, 2017). "Image : RPM Weekly".
  27. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1974" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Hung Medien. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  28. ↑ Swiss Year-End Charts, 1974
  29. ↑ "Top Selling Singles for 1974". Music Week. London, England: Spotlight Publications: 20. 4 January 1975.
  30. ↑ "Top Pop Singles" Billboard December 28, 1974: Talent in Action-8
  31. ↑ Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 28, 1974
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