“I Get Lifted,” George McCrae
Greetings, fellow seekers of the rare, the unusual, the…
Ah, screw it. The love of my life decided she’d had enough sleep at 5:30 this morning and woke me up in the process. So here I am, groggy and nappy-headed after having crawled out of the fart-sack a full three hours early, and I got nothing better to do than share another song I found in the garbage with you.
This one is by George McCrae, who had one giant smash in the 70s entitled “Rock Your Baby.” That’s a good little tune, for sure — but I think I prefer the slinky, sexy vibe of this one better. See what you think.
And while you’re grooving to McCrae, ask yourself this probing question: uh… uh… man, I can’t think of a probing question. I got woken up at 5:30, Jack!
HVB
If George McRae hasn’t provided you with a soundtrack to a 5:30 activity involving that woman you WOKE YOU UP, well, I think perhaps, you may need to apply something stronger immediately. Perhaps, Curtis Mayfield.
For me, “Rock Your Baby” is one of the greatest singles of my childhood. Did McRae get sued for ripping off “You’re No Good” when he released this little number? It’s OK, but it’s 75% “You’re No Good,” without the payoff of the chorus and the other great parts.
What I’m most concerned about, however, is the intimation that your fiance was in your room this morning. Surely she slept in a separate room and woke you up when she opened her door, right?
Rock Your Baby–hands down one of the greatest songs of the 70s–and I Get Lifted–also tremendous–are the only songs I know by George “Don’t Call Me Hal” McRae. What can that mean? I have the believe there is more where these came from. I assume I Get Lifted was produced by KC as well?
I’m glad you brought up the KC and the Sunshine Band/Florida studio scene that McRea was part of. I wonder if there’s a collection of stuff from that nascent scene.
One of my earlier Thrifty Music posts featured Little Beaver, a session cat (guitar) from that Miami scene, doing one of my all-time fave party anthems, “Party Down.” Seek it out, it’s great!
And for those of you making with the ha-ha about the unromantic nature of my early morning — woman had to get up early for work.
Hey, look what I found! KC & the Sunshine Band ripping through an uptempo version of this number in 1974!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfagzIDsIR8
BTW, that bass line is BAD.
Don’t forget the underated “Rockin Chair” performed by George’s wife Gwen McCrae
The groove is nice enough, but the whole production is so laid back it seems like the intro to a song that never materializes.
The KC version seems to me to give it a little more shape. And this version — http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfsffF3dwrw — seems slower and bassier. Is the single sped up?
There is nothing I don’t like about this!
Yo La Tengo covered this a while back….