Gwendolyn Guthrie (July 9, 1950 – February 3, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter and pianist who also sang backing vocals for

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

Peter Tosh Winston Hubert McIntosh, OM (19 October 1944 – 11 September 1987), professionally known as Peter Tosh, was a Jamaican reggae musician. Along with Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer, he was one of the core members of the band the Wailers (1963� ...

, and Madonna, among others, and who wrote songs made famous by

Ben E. King Benjamin Earl King (né Nelson; September 28, 1938 – April 30, 2015) was an American soul and R&B singer and record producer. He is best known as the singer and co-composer of " Stand by Me"—a US Top 10 hit, both in 1961 and later ...

Angela Bofill Angela Tomasa Bofill (born May 2, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter of Cuban- Puerto Rican origins. A New York native, Bofill began her professional career in the mid-1970s. Bofill is most known for singles such as, "This Time I'll Be Sweet ...

and

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (born February 10, 1937) is a retired American singer. She topped the Billboard Magazine, ''Billboard'' charts with the No. 1 singles "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song", "Feel Like M ...

. Guthrie is well known for her 1986 anthem "

Ain't Nothin' Goin' on But the Rent "Ain't Nothin' Goin' On but the Rent" is a song by American singer-songwriter Gwen Guthrie. It was released in 1986 as the lead single from her fourth album, '' Good to Go Lover'' (1986), on Polydor Records. It became the biggest hit of Guthrie's ...

," and for her 1986 cover of the song " (They Long to Be) Close to You."

Life and career

Guthrie was born and raised in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area. In school, she studied

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

, and her father began teaching her

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

when she was eight years old. By the early 1970s, she had joined vocal groups such as the Ebonettes and the Matchmakers, while working as an elementary school teacher. She was a backup singer on

's 1974 single " I'm in Love". Guthrie soon began moonlighting as a singer of commercial jingles, sometimes with her friend Valerie Simpson of

Ashford & Simpson Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting-production team and recording duo of Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946). Ashford was born in Fairfield, South Carolina, ...

fame. A song-writing partnership with then-boyfriend, trombonist/bassist

Haras Fyre Haras Fyre (born January 5, 1953), also known professionally as Patrick Grant, is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. After writing songs for Sister Sledge and Ben E. King early in his career in a songwriting duo with his ...

(professionally known as "Patrick Grant") resulted in

's comeback single " Supernatural Thing," an R&B #1 (#5 pop) hit in 1975, and the follow-up, "Do It In the Name of Love (#4 R&B). They also wrote "

This Time I'll Be Sweeter "This Time I'll Be Sweeter" is a soul ballad written by Haras Fyre (professionally known as Pat Grant) and Gwen Guthrie. Early versions The first release of "This Time I'll Be Sweeter" was as the B-side of the May 1975 Arista Records single r ...

" for Angela Bofill, which was later covered by numerous artists. Together they wrote seven tracks on Sister Sledge's 1975 album ''Circle of Love'': "Cross My Heart," "Protect Our Love," "Love Don't You Go Through No Changes on Me," "Don't You Miss Him Now," "Pain Reliever," "You're Much Better Off Loving Me," and "Fireman." She also wrote

's "God Don't Like Ugly." As Guthrie's solo career developed, she worked extensively with

Sly and Robbie Sly and Robbie were a prolific Jamaican rhythm section and production duo, associated primarily with the reggae and dub genres. Drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare teamed up in the mid-1970s after establishing themselves separa ...

on dub-influenced club cuts, and began racking up

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

hits. She was dubbed "The First Lady of the

Paradise Garage Paradise Garage, also known as "the Garage" or the "Gay-rage", was a New York City discotheque notable in the history of dance and pop music, as well as LGBT and nightclub cultures. The club was founded by sole proprietor Michael Brody, and ...

," as several of her songs became anthems at that venue, helped by the frequent and dynamic performances she gave there. She soon teamed musically with famed Paradise Garage DJ

Larry Levan Larry Levan (; born Lawrence Philpot, July 20, 1954 – November 8, 1992) was an American DJ best known for his decade-long residency at the New York City night club Paradise Garage, which has been described as the prototype of the modern da ...

, and recorded her first major landmark hit "Padlock" in 1983 with the

Compass Point All Stars Compass Point Studios was a music recording studio in the Bahamas, founded in 1977 by Chris Blackwell, the owner of Island Records. The concept of the studio was of a recording facility supported by in-house sets of artists, musicians, producer ...

Nassau, Bahamas Nassau ( ) is the capital and largest city of the Bahamas. With a population of 274,400 as of 2016, or just over 70% of the entire population of the Bahamas, Nassau is commonly defined as a primate city, dwarfing all other towns in the country. ...

, which became a

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

and radio hit two years later. She also sang backup on Madonna's 1982 debut album. Guthrie is probably best known for her 1986 dance anthem "

," a self-written and produced track which garnered some controversy for its materialistic lyrics such as, "You've got to have a j-o-b if you want to be with me/No romance without finance." "Ain't Nothin' Goin' on But the Rent" was later

sampled Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of so ...

by numerous dance and hip hop artists, notably by Foxy Brown in her 1998 song "JOB" featuring

Mýa Mya Marie Harrison (; born October 10, 1979), (stylized as Mýa), is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actress. Born into a musical family, she studied ballet, jazz, and tap dance as a child. Initially, Mýa began her career as a VJ ...

, and by

Utah Saints Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its we ...

for the original version of their hit "What Can You Do for Me." The song is referenced in the

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and singer. He rose to fame on the sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', for which he was a regular cast member from 1980 to 1984. Murphy has als ...

monologue "No Romance without Finance" in his ''

Eddie Murphy Raw ''Eddie Murphy Raw'' is a 1987 American stand-up comedy film starring Eddie Murphy and directed by Robert Townsend. It was Murphy's second feature stand-up comedy film, following ''Eddie Murphy Delirious''. However, unlike ''Delirious'', ''Raw'' ...

'' comedy special. Guthrie also had a hit in 1986 with a

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

of " (They Long to Be) Close to You," which reached number twenty-five on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

the same year. Her 1988 single "Can't Love You Tonight" boldly addressed

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

at a time when the disease was a rather taboo subject. Guthrie was an ally of the

gay community The LGBT community (also known as the LGBTQ+ community, GLBT community, gay community, or queer community) is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and other queer individuals united by a common culture and social ...

, and of people with AIDS. Proceeds from the single went to the AIDS Coalition. Other club hits by Guthrie include the Compass Point All Stars-produced "Seventh Heaven," "Peanut Butter," and "Peek-a-Boo." "Padlock" was later covered by

M People M People (stylised as ''M''People) is an English dance music band that formed in 1990 and achieved success throughout most of the 1990s. The name M People is taken from the first letter of the first name of band member Mike Pickering, who form ...

, who included it on their 1995 album '' Bizarre Fruit'', featuring vocalist

Heather Small Heather Margarita Small (born 20 January 1965) is a British soul singer and former lead vocalist of the band M People. Her subsequent debut solo studio album, ''Proud'', was released in 2000. Career 1987–1998: Hot House and M People Small ...

Death

Guthrie died of

uterine cancer Uterine cancer, also known as womb cancer, includes two types of cancer that develop from the tissues of the uterus. Endometrial cancer forms from the lining of the uterus, and uterine sarcoma forms from the muscles or support tissue of the ut ...

on February 3, 1999, at the age of 48, and was interred at Fairmount Cemetery in Newark, New Jersey.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Compilation albums

*''Ticket to Ride'' (1987, 4th & B'way) *''Ultimate Collection'' (1999,

Hip-O Hip-O Records is a record label that specializes in reissues and compilations. It is part of Universal Music Group. Established in 1996, the label has distributed releases from 'out of style' genres such as disco and early hip-hop music as wel ...

)

Singles

Notes

References

External links

* * *
Patrick Grant (Haras Fyre)
at Fyremusic.com
Podcast feature on Guthrie's life
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guthrie, Gwen 1950 births 1999 deaths People from Okemah, Oklahoma African-American women singer-songwriters African-American songwriters African-American pianists American boogie musicians American dance musicians American disco musicians American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters American soul singers Island Records artists Polydor Records artists Warner Records artists Reprise Records artists Burials at Fairmount Cemetery (Newark, New Jersey) Deaths from cancer in New Jersey Deaths from uterine cancer Singer-songwriters from Oklahoma 20th-century American women pianists 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American women singers Musicians from Newark, New Jersey 20th-century American singers 20th-century African-American women singers Singer-songwriters from New York (state) Singer-songwriters from New Jersey