THE HOLY SHIT

After just a passing mention of the Staple Singers yesterday, it occurred to me that there some of you may not be familiar with them. If you're older, I know. You probably remember their stuff well. After all, "I'll Take You There" and "Respect Yourself" were big hits, as in Top 40 hits, so if you're in that particular age group, you'd have to have tried to to be ignorant to have missed them. To you younger folks, I need to point out something. You've probably heard that gospel music has at times made it's way into popular music. Never was that as evident as in the Staples' music. Lest you thing that having a gospel thing going on robs music of its vitality or relevance to a secular mob, think again. The Staple Singers were funky, soulful and tight. I mean it. I remember hearing "I'll Take You There" and wondering why it was that I liked this song that wasn't at all like the other stuff I listened to. It bugged me, and no matter what, as the years passed, I still couldn't figure it out. So, I relaxed, and just went with it. The Staple Singers were just on a different plane all together, Different than rock, different than soul, different even than their label mates at Stax. It was a deep family groove, with Pops Staples's wickedly cool understated swamp type guitar punctuating the beautiful voices of his progeny.

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Music:
The Staple Singers - I'll Take You There mp3 at DK Presents
The Staple Singers - Respect Yourself mp3 at Inventati
The Staple Singers - Samson and Delilah mp3 at Beware of the Blog
The Staple Singers - Uncloudy Day mp3 at Liberated Syndication
The Staple Singers - Wade In the Water (streaming) at YouTube
Video:
The Staple Singers - Respect Yourself (Wattstax, 1972) at YouTube
The Staple Singers - I'll Take You There (Soul Train, 1972) at YouTube
The Staple Singers - I'll Take You There (Grammy Awards 1973) at YouTube
The Staple Singers - If You're Ready (Soul Train, 1973) at YouTube
The Staple Singers - When Will We Be Paid (live, 1971) at YouTube
The Staple Singers - Reach Out, Touch a Hand, Make a Friend (live 1981) at YouTube
A Short History of the Staple Singers at YouTube