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Gwen McCrae ~ Funky Sensation 1981 Funky Purrfection Version

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Gwen McCrae was born Gwen Mosely on December 21, 1943 in Pensacola, Florida the youngest of five children. As a teenager, she embraced her vocal skills by singing with local groups the Lafayettes and the Independents.

One day in 1963, she met a sailor named George McCrae and married him within a week of their fateful meeting. They began to record duets as husband and wife for Henry Stone's Alston Records an offshoot of TK Records and released several singles as George & Gwen in late 1969 and early 1970.

From 1971 to 1972 she was signed to Columbia and released four unsuccessful single then she was signed separately to the Cat imprint of TK and had two R&B hits but nothing substantial until George hit big with "Rock Your Baby". She was the first to record and release "Always On My Mind" in 1972 and Elvis was listening as well as Willie Nelson who both recorded far more successful versions.

She recorded "Rockin' Chair" in 1975 and got her biggest hit ever peaking at #9 US and created a soul classic. No further hits came her way until she signed with Atlantic Records and released "Funky Sensation" written by Kenton Nix who had also written "Heartbeat" that Taana Gardener turned into a major post disco hit.

While she tried hard to break onto the US charts, she was adored in the UK and eventually toured and recorded in 1987. Her earlier singles were now considered to be Northern Soul and during 1970-1974 became a sub genre on its own in the UK. Northern Soul is NOT Motown, rather it is music that resembled it but done outside of the Motown sound factory. These singles were issued in the 60's but collectors looked to that era for dance music to counter the rise of disco.

Her music has been sampled, keeping her in the loop of dance music today but she also developed her gospel singing in 2004. Her last single was "Now I Found Love" in 2010.

In 2012, she suffered a stroke in her hotel room after a concert appearance which resulted in the paralysis of the left side of her body and the inability to walk. I will always remember "Rockin' Chair" when she brought real soul fried disco to the masses.
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