Raes - Two Hearts

Tracks

Side 1

		Track Name	Length
	1	Love It Up Tonight	03:16
	2	Under Fire	03:30
	3	Two Hearts	03:06
	4	I Don't Care	02:55
	5	Give a Little Bit More	02:41

Side 2

		Track Name	Length
	1	One Sided Love Affair	03:44
	2	That Once in a Lifetime	03:30
	3	Kiss and Tell	04:19
	4	Ask Me to Dance	03:34

Photos

Videos

No Video

Information/Write-up

The Raes were a bright and charismatic husband-and-wife vocal duo whose blend of pop, disco, and cabaret-style charm made them one of Canada’s most recognizable acts of the late 1970s. Their story began an ocean apart. Robbie Rae, born Robert Henry Bevan in Wales, entered show business as a child, first as a choirboy and then as a teen recording artist for Decca Records. By the time he was in his mid-teens he was touring Europe with his brother Martin and had even sparked controversy with a Welsh-language performance of The Lord’s Prayer that the BBC briefly banned for “blasphemy.” The attention helped his career, and before long he was hosting his own television variety show.

Cherrill Rae, born Yates, spent her early childhood in England before her family moved to St. Thomas, Ontario. She grew up on Motown and North American pop radio, developing the rich R&B-inflected vocal style that later became her trademark. As a young adult she returned to the UK to study at the Cardiff College of Music and soon joined the touring theatrical group The Comic Opera. When the troupe was invited to perform on Robbie’s TV show, the two singers met, clicked instantly, and were reportedly engaged within days.

Cherrill encouraged Robbie to relocate to Canada, and the pair began performing together in Toronto lounges as Cherrill & Robbie Rae. Their chemistry was immediate and winning, equal parts nightclub polish and pop excitement. Executives from Dixon-Propas Productions, one of Toronto’s leading artist-management firms, caught the duo’s act and quickly signed them. A&M Records followed in 1976, releasing early singles such as Don’t Shut Me Out and Oh Me, Oh My, which began establishing the pair on Canadian radio.

Their breakthrough came the following year when, on management’s advice to reinvent themselves, the duo transformed Doris Day’s 1956 standard Que Sera Sera into an upbeat disco track. The single became an unexpected Canadian hit in 1977, cracked the Top 10 nationally, received heavy club play, and earned a Juno nomination for Best Selling Single. A&M rushed the pair into Manta Sound in Toronto with producer Harry Hinde and songwriter/producer Cliff Edwards to cut their first album. The resulting LP, simply titled The Raes, mixed disco, pop, and soul elements and yielded multiple singles, with remixes circulating extensively through North American clubs.

Their follow-up album, Dancing Up a Storm, arrived in 1979 and featured their biggest U.S. success, A Little Lovin’ (Keeps the Doctor Away). The single rose to No. 5 on Billboard’s club chart and eventually peaked inside the Hot 100, supported by U.S. television appearances on Soul Train, American Bandstand, and other high-profile programs. The Raes’ bright image and sharp visual presentation translated naturally to television, and in 1978 they were given their own CTV variety show, which ran for two seasons and became a key part of their public identity. Though a multi-year renewal was offered, the duo declined on the advice of label executives who feared overexposure, a decision often viewed in hindsight as a missed opportunity.

By 1980 the disco backlash was beginning to take hold, making it increasingly difficult for acts rooted in the genre to maintain momentum. Their third album, Two Hearts, was released that year, but A&M chose not to issue it in the United States. With label support waning and the pressures of nearly nonstop touring, both the personal and professional sides of the partnership began to strain. Robbie and Cherrill divorced in 1982 and ended the act.

Cherrill continued performing under the name Cherrill Rae, releasing the single I Know I’ll Never Love This Way Again and becoming a familiar presence on the Toronto club circuit in groups such as Backstreet, Rae and Rockit, and her own Cherrill Rae Trio. She later found steady work as a cruise-ship entertainer and eventually settled in the United States, where she continues to perform selectively.

Robbie pursued a solo path, releasing a series of adult-pop singles throughout the 1980s and collaborating with Saga members Jim Gilmour and Steve Negus on the Gilmour-Negus Project album for Virgin Records in 1989, credited under his birth name. Through the 1990s he fronted his own band on the Toronto circuit and later worked internationally in Dubai before relocating to Phuket, Thailand, where he performed regularly at his own club. He survived the 2004 tsunami but passed away two years later after a brief illness at the age of 52.

Although their partnership was relatively brief, The Raes left behind a vibrant, unmistakable catalogue that captured a specific moment in Canadian pop. Their disco-infused arrangements, sharp vocal blend, and lively stage presence made them fixtures of late-1970s radio, television, and club culture. Today, their recordings remain emblematic of an era when Canadian pop was growing more confident, cosmopolitan, and international in reach.
-Robert Williston

Bob Babbitt: bass
Charles Collins: drums
Jimmy Maelen: percussion
Bruce Nazarian: guitar
Paul Sabu: guitar
Eric Robertson: keyboards
Steve Love: keyboards

Julia Waters: backing vocals
Maxine Waters: backing vocals
Myrna Waters: backing vocals

Arranged by David Van De Pitte
Produced by Harry Hinde
Art direction by David Andoff

Graphics by Istvan Resz
Photography by Eedie Steiner

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