Gwen McCrae

After a string of stunning but financially moribund singles for Columbia in the early ’70s, Gwen McCrae returned to Miami, where Alston founder Henry Stone paired her with producer/ songwriter Clarence Reid to record a series of career-making sides for Alston subsidiary Cat Records. For “Raining,” Reid hunkered down behind the piano and led Gwen and the Alston house band through one of his most distinctive arrangements.