A Soulful Sunday In The Seventies with The Smooth Operators

Jerry Butler

A seventies follow-up to our first Soulful Sunday edition, uploaded by Martijn a few weeks ago. Enjoy!

Tragically the career of singer Gwen McCrae who passed away earlier this year was overshadowed by her husband George's success. His million seller Rock Your Baby was originally meant for her to be recorded. On the other hand, she managed to pursue a solo career after their divorce and released a few so-called "rare groove classics":

“Affectionately known as the "queen of the rare groove", McCrae had a 1975 soul smash with Rockin' Chair. Her catalogue - which also includes the dancefloor anthem All This Love That I'm Givin', as well as other tracks like 90% of Me Is You, Keep the Fire Burning and Funky Sensation - has been heavily sampled by artists including Lady Gaga, Cassius, Avicii, Madlib, Cypress Hill and Mobb Deep.” (BBC)

Tracklist: 

Jerry Butler – (I'm Just Thinking About) Cooling Out (1978)
The Chargers – You Gotta Be A Lady (1972)
Valentine Brothers – King Size Bed (1979)
Debbie Taylor ‎– I Have Learned To Do Without You (1973)
Maxine Weldon – I Want Sunday Back Again (1975)
Leon Ware – Body Heat (1976)
Jeannie Reynolds – Unwanted Company (1975)
Peter Brown ‎– Without Love (1978)
Mojoba – Say You Will (1977)
Margie Joseph – Let's Stay Together (1973)
Dionne Warwick – Déjà Vu (1979)
Tony Wilson – Give Your Lady What She Wants (1979)
Brief Encounter – Human (1977)
The Blackbyrds – Soft And Easy (1977)
Bobby Womack – Daylight (1975)
Gwen McCrae – 90% Of Me Is You (1974)
The Stylistics – Funky Weekend (1975)
Eugene Record – Overdose of Joy (1977)
Archie Bell & The Drells – Don’t Let Love Get You Down (1976)
D.J. Rogers – (It’s Alright Now) Think I’ll Make It Anyhow (1975)