Gwen Guthrie

Gwen Guthrie (born July 9, 1950 in Newark (New Jersey) , † February 4, 1999 in Orange , New Jersey ) was an American singer , pianist and songwriter . Her biggest hit in 1986 was Ain't Nothin 'Goin' On but the Rent .

biography

Gwen Guthrie, who grew up in Newark , New Jersey , learned to play the piano from her father when she was 8 years old . She studied classical music at school . She later sang at street fairs and parties for fun and was a member of the singing groups The Ebonettes and The Matchmakers in the early 1970s. After her training, she worked as a primary school teacher .

In 1974 Guthrie hired as a studio singer for Aretha Franklin , on whose hit I'm in Love she replaced a sick singer alongside Cissy Houston . She also sang for Roberta Flack on recordings. A year later Guthrie composed the track Supernatural Thing , which became a US top 10 hit by Ben E. King . She wrote other songs for the Pointer Sisters and Isaac Hayes .

The first solo record , made for Columbia Records in the late 1970s , never hit stores. Guthrie then moved to Jamaica , where she stayed for a year. Back home she got a contract with Chris Blackwell of Island Records . In 1982 the first official album Gwen Guthrie was released, the musical spectrum of which included R&B , reggae and dance music . She celebrated her greatest success in 1986 with the worldwide hit Ain't Nothin 'Goin' On but the Rent .

By 1988, the American had a few more small hits in the UK . In the 1990s she mainly worked as an arranger and producer . Gwen Guthrie died of uterine cancer in Orange, New Jersey, at the age of 48 in 1999 and was buried in Fairmount Cemetery in Newark, New Jersey. In the same year the compilation Ultimate Collection was released .

Discography

Albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)				Remarks
		DE	UK	US	R&B
1982	Gwen Guthrie	-	-	-	R&B28 (15 weeks) R&B	First published: 1982 Producers: Sly Dunbar , Robbie Shakespeare , Steven Stanley
1985	Just for you	-	-	-	R&B55 (6 weeks) R&B	First published: March 1985 Producer: Eumir Deodato
	Padlock	-	-	-	R&B47 (8 weeks) R&B	First published: 1983 Producers: Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare, Steven Stanley
1986	Good to go lover	-	UK42 (14 weeks) UK	US89 (13 weeks) US	R&B20 (14 weeks) R&B	First published: August 1986 Producers: Gwen Guthrie, David Conley, Ernestine Bell

More albums

• 1983: portrait
• 1988: Lifeline
• 1990: Hot Times

Compilations

• 1987: Ticket to Ride
• 1999: Ultimate Collection

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)					Remarks	[↑]: treated together with the previous entry; [←]: placed in both charts
		DE	UK	US	R&B	Dance
1982	It Should Have Been You Gwen Guthrie	-	-	-	R&B27 (12 weeks) R&B	Dance11 (16 weeks) Dance	First published: August 1982 Author: Darryl Thompson
1983	Peanut Butter Portrait	-	-	-	R&B83 (3 weeks) R&B	-	First published: April 1983 Author: Sly Dunbar
1984	Love in moderation Just for You	-	-	-	R&B17 (15 weeks) R&B	-	First published: November 1984 Authors: Jerry Barnes, Katreese Barnes
1985	Just for You Just for You	-	-	-	R&B53 (9 weeks) R&B	-	First published: March 1985 Authors: Jerry Barnes, Katreese Barnes
	Padlock (EP)	-	-	-	R&B25 (14 weeks) R&B	Dance13 (15 weeks) Dance	First release: May 1985 feat. Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare, Wally Badarou, Darryl Thompson Author: Tamy Smith
	Peanut Butter (Remix)	-	-	-	R&B75 (4 weeks) R&B	-	First published: October 1985 Mix: Larry Levan
1986	Ain't Nothin 'Goin' On but the Rent Good to Go Lover	DE21 (12 weeks) DE	UK5 silver (12 weeks)UK	US42 (13 weeks) US	R&B1 (19 weeks) R&B	Dance1 (13 weeks) Dance	First published: June 1986 Authors: Cee Rogers, Gwen Guthrie
	(They Long to Be) Close to You Good to Go Lover	-	UK25 (7 weeks) UK	-	R&B69 (9 weeks) R&B	-	First published: September 1986 Authors: Burt Bacharach , Hal David
	Seventh Heaven Portrait	-	UK85 (2 weeks) UK	-	-	-	First published: September 1986 Author: Tami Lester Smith
	Outside in the Rain Good to Go Lover	-	UK37 (4 weeks) UK	-	R&B51 (8 weeks) R&B	-	First published: October 1986 Authors: Bernard Jackson, David Conley, David Townsend, Joshua Thompson
1970	Good to Go Lover Good to Go Lover	-[UK: ↑]		-	-	-	First published: February 1987 Authors: Bill Hagans, Gwen Guthrie
1987	Friends and Lovers	-	UK97 (1 week) UK	-	-	-	First published: August 1987 with Boris Gardiner Author: Ben Peters
1988	Can't Love You Tonight Lifeline	-	UK79 (2 weeks) UK	-	R&B83 (6 weeks) R&B	Dance44 (3 weeks) Dance	First published: March 1988 Author: Gwen Guthrie
1990	Miss My Love Hot Times	-	-	-	-	Dance27 (4 weeks) Dance	First published: October 1990 Author: Larry Conley
1991	Sweet Bitter Love Hot Times	-	-	-	R&B74 (6 weeks) R&B	-	First published: May 1991 Authors: Gwen Guthrie, Brian Jackson
1993	Ain't Nothin 'Goin' On but the Rent (1993 Remix)	-	UK42 (2 weeks) UK	-	-	-	First published: August 1993 Remix: Nigel Wright

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

More singles

• 1981: Nothing But Love ( Peter Tosh with Gwen Guthrie)
• 1982: Peek-a-Boo
• 1982: For You (With a Melody Too) (Remix) / Peek a Boo (Remix)
• 1983: Hopscotch
• 1987: Ticket to Ride
• 1988: Rockin 'Chair
• 1988: Family Affair
• 1990: Say It Isn't So
• 1992: Eyes (You Never Really Cared)
• 1992: This Christmas Eve

swell

1. ↑ Obituary: Gwen Guthrie. February 15, 1999, accessed August 23, 2020 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b} Chart sources: Singles UK US
3. ↑ ^{a b} UK gold / platinum database
4. ^ Joel Whitburn : Top R&B Albums 1965–1998, ISBN 0-89820-134-9 .
5. ^ Joel Whitburn : Hot R&B Songs 1942–2010: 6th Edition, ISBN 978-0898201864 .
6. ^ Joel Whitburn : Hot Dance / Disco 1974-2003, ISBN 978-0-89820-156-7 .

Web links

• Gwen Guthrie at Allmusic (English)
• Gwen Guthrie at Discogs (English)
• Biography at Taurus Press