Crutcher was born in Memphis, Tennessee on September 16,[2] 1939, and started writing poems as a child. She became a nurse and was a single parent of three children when she applied to work for various record labels. After being rejected by other labels, she joined Stax Records as a songwriter in 1967, becoming their only female staffer.[3] In 2019, she said: "Being the only female songwriter for Stax was quite an event [...] They talk about the sexist '60s, and I really think the guys didn't think the girls could do that."[1]
Crutcher wrote "Somebody's Sleeping in My Bed" for Johnnie Taylor, which made the R&B Top 40 in 1967.[3] She teamed with Homer Banks and Raymond Jackson as the songwriting trio We Three. In their first year together, their work accounted for $6 million in sales ($47,074,550 in current dollar terms).[4] We Three wrote "Who's Making Love" for Taylor, which was a Top 5 hit in 1968 and was nominated for Best R&B Song at the 1969 Grammy Awards.[3]
After Stax went out of business, Crutcher worked in antiques and made jewelry. She moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in the 1980s and wrote songs for B.B. King and Bobby Bland.[3]
Crutcher died in Nashville on October 20, 2022, at age 83.[1][3]
^Burke, Jack (March 10, 1975). "The wax works". The Daily Journal. Stevens Point, Wisconsin. p. 14. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
^Lee, Mary Ann (July 12, 1974). "Hollywood Beckons Another Stax VIP". The Memphis Press-Scimitar. p. 3. Retrieved October 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.