Gwen Guthrie - Rotten Tomatoes Celebrity Profile

Biography

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Gwen Guthrie (July 14 (some sources say July 9) 1950 – February 3 1999) was an American singer/songwriter, who also sang backing vocals for Aretha Franklin, Billy Joel, and Madonna among others, and who wrote songs made famous by Ben E. King, Gary Glitter and Roberta Flack.

Life and career

Gwendolyn Guthrie was born in Okemah, Oklahoma [1] and raised in Newark, New Jersey. In school, she studied classical music, and her father began teaching her piano when she was eight years old. By the early 1970s, she had joined vocal groups such as the Ebonettes and the Matchmakers, meanwhile working as an elementary school teacher. When a backup singer scheduled to sing on Aretha Franklin's "I'm In Love" fell ill, Guthrie took the vocalist's place beside Cissy Houston; thus Guthrie would happily state that her career on record began "at the top."

Guthrie soon began moonlighting as a singer of commercial jingles, sometimes with her friend Valerie Simpson (of Ashford & Simpson fame). A songwriting partnership with Patrick Grant resulted in Ben E. King's comeback single, "Supernatural Thing," and "This Time I'll Be Sweeter," covered by numerous artists. She was also the writer of Roberta Flack's "God Don't Like Ugly".

As Guthrie's solo career developed, she worked extensively with Sly & Robbie on dub-influenced club cuts, and began racking up dance hits. She was dubbed "The First Lady Of The Paradise Garage" as a slew of her songs became anthems at the venue, helped by the frequent and dynamic performances she gave there. She soon teamed musically with famed Paradise Garage DJ Larry Levan.

Guthrie is probably best known for her 1986 dance anthem "Ain't Nothin' Goin' On But The Rent," a self-written/self-produced track which garnered some controversy for lyrics such as: "No romance without finance/You've got to have a j-o-b if you want to be with me" (and "...Rent" was later sampled by numerous dance and hip hop artists, notably by Foxy Brown in "J-O-B").

Her single "Can't Love You Tonight" boldly addressed AIDS at a time when the disease was a taboo subject, and she was an ally to the gay community, and people with AIDS long before the masses caught up. Proceeds from the single went to the AIDS Coalition.

Other club hits of hers include "Padlock," "Peanut Butter," and "Peek-a-boo." She also had a further Top 30 hit in the UK with a cover of the Bacharach & David song (They Long To Be) Close To You.

She died on 3 February, 1999, of uterine cancer, at the age of 48.

Partial discography

Albums

Gwen Guthrie (1982)

Portrait (1983)

Padlock EP (1985)

Just For You (1985)

Good To Go Lover (1986)

Lifeline (1988)

Ticket To Ride (1988)

Hot Times (1990)

Ultimate Collection (1999)

Singles

"It Should Have Been You" (1982)

"Peek-a-boo" (1982)

"Seventh Heaven" (1982)

"Family Affair" (1983)

"Hopscotch" (1983)

"Padlock" (Special Mixes by Larry Levan; 1983)

"Love In Moderation" (1984)

"Getting Hot" (1985)

"Peanut Butter" (1985)

"Seventh Heaven" (1985) #85 UK

"Ain't Nothin' Goin On But The Rent" (1986) #5 UK

"(They Long To Be) Close To You" (1986) #25 UK

"Outside The Rain" (1986)

"Good To Go Lover" (1987) #37 UK

"Friends And Lovers" (1987) #97 UK (with Boris Gardiner)

"Ticket To Ride" (1987)

"Can't Love You Tonight" (1988) #79 UK

"Rocking Chair" (1988)

"Miss My Love" (1990)

"Say It Isn't So" (1991)

"Sweet Bitter Love" (1991)

"This Christmas Eve" (1992)

"Ain't Nothin' Goin On But The Rent" (Remix with Junior; 1993) #42 UK

Trivia

Although the two were not related to each other, Gwen Guthrie shares a last name, birthday (July 14), and birthplace (Okemah, Oklahoma) with American folk singer Woody Guthrie.