Gwen Guthrie

Gwen Guthrie
Reminiscences Hot Times cover

My first traceable knowledge of Gwen Guthrie was at the outset of 1977, when I bought Linda Lewis – Not a Little Girl Anymore. It contains the much-covered "This Time I'll Be Sweeter" by Gwen and Pat Grant, one of the better cuts on Linda's record, which is saying a lot.

For some reason, I didn't get her album, the cleverly monikered Gwen Guthrie, but I got her next, Portrait. Both were produced by Sly & Robbie, giving me the false impression that Gwen was Jamaican. She was born in Newark, New Jersey. It was an uneven album, but there were cuts I especially liked. Another great ballad, "Oh What A Life" and an enthusiastically zippy reggae arrangement of the Sly classic, "Family Affair."

Gwen and I enjoyed our greatest success with 1986's Good To Go Lover. I went into the local Rainbow Records store one day. I'd already spotted this lovely salesperson and wanted to strike up a conversation, which seemed highly unlikely. At least I could seek her assistance with a record [precursor to the compact disc], asking, "Have you got the new one by Arlo Guthrie's sister, Gwen?" Such a query is sometimes referred to as an icebreaker. And anyway, how was I to know she was unrelated to Arlo.

My ludicrous question had the serious effect of introducing me to the Rainbow staff, Phil and the lovely Barbara.

Wound up getting the cassette tape of the album, unusual for me and unfortunate. Some other woman borrowed the tape and let's see, that was 1986. I'm pretty sure she isn't returning it. No matter. She was a waste of time. She wanted finance with no romance.

I had a brief, enjoyable friendship with Barbara. We went out a few times as friends, without having one of those awkward "just friends" chats, even when she visited my apartment. I like to think nothing developed because she was planning to go back East in a few weeks and didn't want to start anything. I seem to recall her hinting at that. She was beautiful and always sweet to me. I remember she liked Sting and Barbra Streisand and encouraged me to get Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)," which is great. She insisted on giving me her employee's discount, something I never would have asked for. Barbara made a strong enough impression that I based a character in my second novel on her. As usual, my timing was poor.

Back to Gwen, she had a major hit with "Ain't Nothin' Goin' on But the Rent" from that album. I know the famous hook was "no romance without finance," but I always loved the verse:

Life is too serious
Love's too mysterious
A fly girl like me
Needs security

Years later that I learned that Barbara was a fly girl. I had no idea what "fly" meant, being a dumb white guy from Brooklyn. I eventually replaced the stolen tape with the CD. Oh, it was available, but at some ridiculous price like $16.95 (a lot even with a discount).

Gwen continued recording. The "Lifeline" album is okay. There's a good cover of "Too Many Fish in the Sea" by Eddie Holland and Norman Whitfield, while "Rocking Chair" is a catchy piece by Sly and Gwen. I wasn't crazy about her public service announcement for condoms. Not the sentiment, just its presence as a cut on the album.

The last CD by Gwen I got was "Hot Times" in 1990. It is pretty good, with more ballads and some funky fun like "Feel Good." I always felt she needed the right breakthrough material to make it big. Maybe her timing was as poor as mine. Her albums are good listening, due to what Wilson & Alroy call a "subtle way with a ballad and a good ear for catchy riffs." Everything else they write is piffle, but their assessment is accurate.

I read in the May 1999 Vibe that Gwen Guthrie died February third of uterine cancer. She was 42. I didn't see or hear anything about it before and a perusal of various news sites on the Web yielded nothing. I guess being a successful singer/writer/producer counts for nothing. Or maybe it's because she died of natural causes. A few tourists get murdered and suddenly they are major celebrities, albeit dead major celebrities.

I'll miss Gwen. Here's lookin' at you, kid.