 |
| Candi Staton |
| Candi Staton was born March 13, 1945 in Hanceville, Alabama, a small town in a very poor part of the state. Growing up in the segregated deep south in the 1940's and 1950's was hard. Like most black people back then, she turned to the church as an outlet from the oppressive conditions. The church was not only a form of socializing but an intergral part of the "bible belt" of America. Candi's faith was instilled at an early age.
Singing came natural, and as with most great black female singers, the church was the perfect outlet for her incredible talents. As a teenager she joined the famed "Jewell Gospel Trio." They toured the traditional gospel circuit in the 1950s with The Soul Stirrers, Reverend C.L. Franklin (Aretha's father) and gospel legend Mahalia Jackson. They recorded several sides for Nashboro, Apollo and Savoy Records between 1953 and 1963. In 1968 Candi was still singing Gospel music and playing piano in the choir at the Baptist church in Birmingham, Alabama. "Gospel...that’s all I could do. I only knew one other song." But one night in February one of her three brothers insisted on taking her to the 27-28 Club in Birmingham, and Candi was called on stage to sing. She performed her one soul number, "Do Right Woman," and given a standing ovation by the packed house. "But I couldn't give an encore because I didn't know anything else" said Staton. After promising the owner that she would sing again the following week, Candi started buying albums and putting a small show together. "I finally learned about four songs and figured that would have to do." But when she returned to the club, she found she was going to appear with another act -- a blind singer, Clarence Carter, who was on the Atlantic label and was six months away from having his first top ten hit ("Slip Away"). Candi stole the show, and Clarence asked her to join him, "but I was still going to nursing school in Nashville, and I just wasn't ready." It was nearly a year later, at the end of 1968, that Candi decided to go on the road with Carter and give up her nursing career. Shortly after Candi started touring with Clarence, he introduced her to his producer, Rick Hall (my second cousin), of Fame Recording Studios in Muscle Shoals Alabama. Rick auditioned her and immediately signed her to Fame Records, his own label. Candi continued touring regularly with Clarence and a few years later Candi and Clarence became man and wife and were married for several years. Between 1968 and 1975 Staton's solo career as a southern soul stylist, garnered her sixteen R&B hits for Rick Hall's legendary Fame Studios and earned her the title of "First Lady Of Southern Soul" for her Grammy nominated R&B renditions of country tunes "Stand By Your Man" and "In The Ghetto." The latter even prompted Elvis Presley to send her a personal letter of praise! |
 |
| In 1975 Staton saw southern soul falling out of fashion and the rise of "disco" music. She began collaborating with producer Dave Crawford who propelled her into a disco diva with her first Warner Brothers Records release "Young Hearts Run Free." The song topped the club playlists and helped give Candi a strong new fan base, particularly in the gay community. Her second release was a promotional-only 12" single of "Run To Me," a carbon-copy of her first. Both helped "Candi" become her first million-selling album. |
 |
| Her second album, "Music Speaks Louder Than Words," covered some fine material, including her interpretation of "Nights On Broadway" and her second 12" single of "A Dreamer Of A Dream." This 1977 album sold well but didn't match the success of her previous release.
By 1978 Candi and Dave Crawford had finally found the formula for her success. The album "House Of Love" spawned the biggest hit of her secular career, "Victim." The song became an instant classic that still packs floors to this day. The second 12" single, "Honest I Do Love You," although good paled in "Victim's" shadow. The album did establish Candi as a major artist. |
| Candi was on a roll. She glided into 1979 with her third Warner Brothers Records album, "Chance." Once again she sailed to the top of the charts with the 12" single of "When You Wake Up Tomorrow." She followed it with the double-sided hit of "Chance" and "Rock." Touring and personal appearances were a part of her daily life. Las Vegas, Europe and The White House were just a few of the places she appeared at. Television was no stranger to Candi's charm either, she appeared on "American Bandstand" and "The Midnight Special" as well as "Sound America." She shared the stage with everyone from Diana Ross to Johnny Mathis. The little girl from the cotton town in Alabama was "eatin' fancy chow and drinkin' fancy wine"....she had arrived! By 1980 the "disco scene" was dying down and her last release for Warner Bros. suffered from poor promotion and a lack of focus. The album, "Candi Staton," was well crafted and produced but it was apparent that Candi's heart wasn't quite into it. The album produced one 12" single, "Looking For Love," which barely cracked the charts. During her late seventies career she had divorced Clarence Carter and met and married her second husband, John Sussewell. By 1982 Sussewell and Staton began to reformulate her career by going backwards. Their first plan of attack was one of her earlier ploys of recording country flavored songs, this time she did "Suspicious Minds" for the Sugarhill label. A 12" was released and despite the unlikey nature of the song it did enjoy considerable play, perhaps due to her name? In this period Candi did some soul-searching and decided to return to her gospel roots. With the help of Jim & Tammy Faye Baker and the PTL Ministries, she and husband John founded "Beracah Ministries" in Atlanta. She has since recorded eight popular gospel albums, two of which have won Grammy nominations. Her weekly gospel music show on the Trinity Broadcasting Network is "New Direction." She is now one of the most popular gospel artists who was once a popular secular artist. During this period she also wrote her revealing and uplifting autobiography, "My Story." And after her youngest son had run into troubled with the law she wrote another book aimed at helping parents and children going through similar experiences. In 1992 she was back in the pop mainstream with a Top Ten British hit, "You Got The Love," a club-styled dance hit which sold two million copies abroad. Since joining Intersound Records in 1995, Staton has begun to sing some of her old R&B hits again and recorded some new message-oriented pop songs while gaining a new title, the "Sweetheart of Soul." In 2000, she released her twenty first album, "Here's a Blessing." And to Ms. Staton we are blessed that you have recorded some of disco's most enduring classics.....thank you! |
 |