Lifted a Bit Too Far

Last week, we pointed out that Edward Bear should be one of the classic one-hit wonders of all time, but they aren’t. The 1973 hit “Last Song” was a Number-Three smash, but the group scored two other hit singles in the States, one of which, “Close Your Eyes,” squeaked into the Top 40. And so they are deprived of true one-hit wonder status. Another artist with a similar profile is the R&B singer George McCrae. His achievement is even greater than Edward Bear’s, for his biggest hit, “Rock Your Baby,” went all the way to Number One in the summer of 1974, not only in the States but in the UK and around the world. Here he is, lip-synching it in the 70s:

“Rock Your Baby” is the only George McCrae record anybody remembers, but it’s not his only chart hit. We’ll get to the details after a brief detour, because “Rock Your Baby” was also the first significant hit for the Florida-based TK Records label. Its founder has an interesting history of his own.

TK was founded by Henry Stone, who had been in the record biz since the late 40s. He spent much of the 60s as an independent distributor for major labels such as Atlantic, although he also owned his own labels. In the 70s, they turned out a handful of well-remembered R&B hits. “Funky Nassau” by Beginning of the End and “Clean Up Woman” by Betty Wright were on the Alston label (“Al” for Steve Alaimo, “ston” for Henry Stone); “Why Can’t We Live Together” by Timmy Thomas and “Let’s Straighten it Out” by Latimore were on Glades.

Harry Casey and Richard Finch worked in the warehouse at TK. They started writing songs, and “Rock Your Baby” was one of them. They intended to record it, but it was pitched too high for Casey to sing, so McCrae was drafted. Weep not for Casey and Finch, however—their group, KC and the Sunshine Band, would turn out OK. And they weren’t the only ones. Stone’s stable included McCrae’s wife Gwen, whose “Rockin’ Chair” was a smash in the summer of 1975, Peter Brown (“Do You Wanna Get Funky With Me” and “Dance With Me”), Bobby Caldwell (“What You Won’t Do for Love”), and Anita Ward (“Ring My Bell”), as well as artists more obscure, including Little Beaver (“Party Down”) and Jimmy Bo Horne (“Dance Across the Floor”). TK was briefly home to “Weird Al” Yankovic, whose Queen parody “Another One Rides the Bus” was the label’s final single release in 1981.

After “Rock Your Baby” did a week at Number One in July 1974, McCrae followed it with “I Can’t Leave You Alone,” which made the Top 10 on the R&B chart. The next year, McCrae’s “I Get Lifted” would return him to the Top 40. During its run on the Hot 100, it was listed with “I Can’t Leave You Alone” as a double-A-sided record—and “I Can’t Leave You Alone” is by far the stronger of the two songs. The pair spent three weeks at Number 37 in March 1975, and 15 weeks in the Hot 100 altogether.  (“I Get Lifted” had a second life 20 years later when Snoop Dogg sampled it for “Gin and Juice.”)

After a few more hits on the R&B chart and two more visits to the Hot 100, McCrae faded out of radio sight, but he’s still singing, and reportedly has a new album on the way. One thing he’s not, however, is a true one-hit wonder.

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“I Get Lifted”/George McCrae (buy it here)