EDDIE 9V REIMAGINES A 70S CLASSIC. THE RESULT?
Southern soul, blues and slide guitar collide.
Published: 13 Sep 26 • Author: Rock Metal Machine • Reading Time: 4 mins
Eddie 9V transforms George McCrae’s disco classic ‘Rock Your Baby’ into a gritty Southern soul and blues burner. Produced by Dan Auerbach, the track features deep grooves and slide guitar, offering a fresh take on a 1970s hit ahead of Eddie’s new album, Down Here.
RELEASE DETAILS
Artist:
Eddie 9V
Album:
Down Here
Release Date:
6th November 2026
Record Label:
Easy Eye Sound Pre Order:
Link Formats:
TBC
PR Label:
Atlanta-bred guitarist, singer and songwriter Eddie 9V has released his new single, ‘Rock Your Baby’, a radically reimagined take on George McCrae’s 1974 #1 hit. The latest track from Eddie’s forthcoming album, Down Here, out November 6 via Easy Eye Sound, was produced by GRAMMY® Producer of the Year winner Dan Auerbach and recorded live at Auerbach’s legendary Easy Eye Sound Studio in Nashville.
Written by Harry Wayne Casey (KC) and Richard Finch of KC and the Sunshine Band, ‘Rock Your Baby’ became a massive international hit for George McCrae, topping the charts in both the U.S. and U.K. Eddie 9V takes the familiar classic somewhere entirely unexpected, stripping away its lush disco associations and rebuilding it as a greasy Southern soul/blues burner, driven by a deep groove and Duane Allman-inspired slide guitar. Eddie approached the track by imagining what it might have sounded like if McCrae had taken the song down to Muscle Shoals to record it with a Southern soul band.
🔥 FIREWORKS INSIGHT
Eddie 9V’s reworking of ‘Rock Your Baby’ taps into a long tradition of rock musicians reclaiming pop and soul hits through a blues lens. George McCrae’s 1974 original was a defining moment in disco’s emergence, but Eddie’s approach points further back, towards the Southern soul and Muscle Shoals sounds that helped shape rock’s vocabulary. The Duane Allman-inspired slide guitar is a telling choice, connecting Atlanta’s blues heritage with the raw, groove-led spirit of the Deep South. With Dan Auerbach behind the desk, this also brings two generations of roots-minded musicians together. For fans, the question is whether Down Here will extend that blend of vintage feel and contemporary grit across an entire album.
Rather than attempt to recreate one of the most recognisable recordings of the 1970s, Eddie completely reframes it. The result is part soul, part blues, and unmistakably Eddie 9V—a fresh take that reveals the killer soul song underneath the disco classic. Recorded live, the track captures the loose, organic energy of Eddie and the band performing together in the room.
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▶ WATCH THE NEW SINGLE
Want to hear the first taste of Down Here for yourself? Watch the official video below.
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“‘Rock Your Baby’ pushed me completely out of my comfort zone, and that’s where the best stuff happens,” says Eddie 9V. “Dan was coaching me line by line, a foot from my face, while the band learned the whole song in about twenty minutes flat. What came out of that room is pure Southern grit, and I think we found the soul song that was hiding inside that disco classic the whole time.”
Rock Your Baby’ pushed me completely out of my comfort zone, and that’s where the best stuff happens
Eddie 9V
‘Rock Your Baby’ follows ‘Blowin’ Up’ and ‘Whole Lot Coming For You’, the first singles from Down Here. ‘Whole Lot Coming For You’ was named a Guitar World Editors’ Pick and earned Classic Rock’s Track of the Week, with Classic Rock calling it “a deliciously greasy, easy-on-the-ear Southern groove machine with a laidback funky blues kick.”
Produced by Auerbach, Down Here finds Eddie 9V expanding his Southern soul, blues, rock & roll, funk, and R&B roots through an intensely collaborative recording process at Easy Eye Sound. The album brought Eddie together with an exceptional group of musicians and songwriters, including fellow soul-blues guitarist Marcus King and veteran writers Pat McLaughlin (Bonnie Raitt, John Prine, Tanya Tucker) and Daniel Tashian (Kacey Musgraves, Lee Ann Womack, Josh Turner). Raised in Atlanta, Eddie 9V picked up the guitar at six and spent his early years playing everything from metal to indie rock before discovering Howlin’ Wolf’s legendary 1966 Newport Folk Festival performance and turning to the blues. As a teenager, he was already playing long nights in Atlanta clubs and touring outside Georgia. In 2019, he wrote, produced and released his debut album, Left My Soul In Memphis.
With ‘Rock Your Baby’, Eddie 9V takes a song everyone thinks they know and makes it his own—bringing George McCrae’s classic into the Southern soul territory where Eddie’s music lives and breathes.
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Images courtesy of Alysse Gafkjen / Gardina Publicity
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FOLLOW EDDIE 9V
🌐 Website
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