by Ashly Rico
Rolling Stone magazine voted it the #1 Single of the Year in 1974. The following year, John Lennon praised it on Spin Magazine, saying that he wished he could have written the early disco track that made him regard his songwriting differently. George McCrae’s debut single, “Rock Your Baby,” stands as one of the most transformative moments in the development of the disco genre.
While it’s difficult to pinpoint the definitive inception of disco music, this 1974 hit played a crucial role in bringing disco to the forefront of popular music. Written and produced by KC and Richard Finch of KC and the Sunshine Band, “Rock Your Baby” combined elements of R&B, Memphis and Miami soul to create a new, infectious sound that would shape the future of music forever.
Before recording “Rock Your Baby,” George McCrae already had musical experience, having been a session singer and the leader of his band, The Jivin’ Jets. As Miami soul music began to languish in popularity, so did McCrae’s music career in Palm Beach clubs. He contemplated returning to college to study law enforcement, but fate intervened.
In 1973, Harry Wayne Casey (KC) and Richard Finch began creating their own music, tinkering with the reinvention of the Miami soul sound. After being unable to reach the high notes for his new track, “Rock Your Baby,” KC sought out a singer who could: Gwen, George McCrae’s then-wife. When she was late to the recording session at TK Records in Hialeah, Florida, songwriters and producers Finch and KC asked George to stand in.
Featuring KC on keyboards and Richard Finch on bass guitar and drums, the track highlighted the genre’s signature elements: vibrant strings, snappy guitar strums, and soaring falsettos. With Finch on an early Roland, “Rock Your Baby” was the first song to replace the drummer with a drum machine completely. Originally, KC and Finch were the only musicians on the recording, employing their typical method of keeping a core band and bringing in session musicians as needed. They later paid Jerome Smith, a fellow Sunshine Band member, $15 to add a guitar, a small investment in what would become a timeless track.
Released in May of 1974, “Rock Your Baby” went on to top the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B charts by July of that year. Selling over 11 million copies worldwide, it became one of the first massive disco hits around the globe. McCrae also received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Male R&B Vocalist the following year for this song. The success of “Rock Your Baby” also marked the first major hit for KC and Finch, who would go on to lead KC and the Sunshine Band to greater fame. Between 1975 and 1979, their group produced five Billboard Hot 100 number-one hits, including disco anthems like “That’s the Way (I Like It)” and “(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty.”
A true 70s classic, “Rock Your Baby” was more than just a disco hit—it was a groundbreaking moment in music.
