(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please CLICK HERE)
George McCrae - "Rock Your Baby"
Hit Number 1: July 13, 1974
Stay at Number 1: 2 Weeks
Sometimes you just get lucky, and George McCrae's story with "Rock Your Baby" is about as lucky as it gets. I've said it here many times already, but in 1974, disco was not quite the juggernaut that it would later become in the later '70s. But, it was rising, and it was approaching quickly. One of the biggest disco artists that would take off were KC & the Sunshine Band, a band known for their unthoughtful, stupid lyrics, but also their irresistible grooves in their music. (They'll eventually show up in this blog) But in 1974, they too were an unknown group that was just beginning to rise. Harry Wayne Casey, who was the front man and the "KC" of the band, along with his bandmate Richard Finch are the ones responsible for writing and producing "Rock Your Baby", and the original plan was for them to record the song together, but as we all know now, that wasn't what ended up happening.
Finch said that "Rock Your Baby" all happened after him and Casey were messing around with some instruments in the studio one day. Before too long, him and Casey started playing something that sounded really good. He would describe that moment as being like "God was in the building or something." He felt blessed that he would by chance randomly come up with this groove, and he knew him and Casey had to build on it. Finch and Casey were obviously good at coming up with grooves for songs, and that was in part because the two would sneak into local clubs. They would pay close attention to what songs brought people to the dance floor and what songs made them sit down. That sort of technique would work out tremendously in the KC & the Sunshine Band days, but it all started with "Rock Your Baby".
This next part almost sounds made up, but I promise you it's not. This just shows you how lucky of a man George McCrae was in this moment in time. Casey and Finch thought that it would be best for someone else to record the song with them, and they thought that none other than McCrae's wife, Gwen, would be perfect for the song. Right after the two decided on that, George walked into the studio. They then decided to let George have a go at it first, and he provided his vocal with a yearning falsetto and a subtle tone in the verses. Finch and Casey were blown away, and they kept everything McCrae did. When you listen to "Rock Your Baby", you're listening to what was thought to be a rough draft. I'm pretty sure Finch and Casey were still set on Gwen McCrae recording the record, but once they heard George, they couldn't say no to that. To this point, George really didn't have any hits, but "Rock Your Baby" would be a huge hit for him.
Like I said earlier, KC & the Sunshine Band weren't known for very clever lyrics in their songs, so it isn't hard to see that "Rock Your Baby" was written by members of that band. The song pretty much repeats itself: "Woman, take me in your arms, rock your baby" is sung many times throughout. But again, just like many of KC & the Sunshine Band's songs, the appeal of "Rock Your Baby" isn't in the words, it's in the music. McCrae's lead vocal is a desperate cry for some sweet love, the instrumentation around him is a subdued disco storm, with twangy guitar struts, a slick drum pattern and a little keyboard riff that keeps up with everything else, despite everything overpowering it. For being a sudden little outburst in the studio, "Rock Your Baby" has what disco needed to get going. It added fuel to that fire.
McCrae will not appear in this blog again, but disco certainly will. His song would basically work as a blueprint for what it was all about, and the genre would continue to grow and get even better as the years rolled on. "Rock Your Baby" must've kicked ass in 1974, but we know now that disco would get even more exciting later on, which is saying something. "Rock Your Baby" is a "generic" disco song all things told, but it's still pretty fun. Though McCrae didn't seem to have any other songs that would even come close to being as successful as "Rock Your Baby" was, I'm sure he's not complaining. The dude's probably been rich as hell for most of his life because of it.
GRADE: 7/10
IN POP CULTURE:
Here's a 1980s remixed version of "Rock Your Baby", which was mixed by the British remixing madman Paul Hardcastle.
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