Staples Jr Singers Announce First New Album In Nearly 50 Years

Staples Jr. Singers Announce First New Album In Nearly 50 Years, Searching,

Out June 14th via Luaka Bop 

Info

This is a record that the Staples Jr. Singers started to make in the 1980s but never finished, and then lost the tapes. And while we didn’t try to make a record with them like it would have been made in the eighties, we did try to make a record with them that referenced another time—the way their music does. In the end, all it took was recording everybody in the same room, at the same time. Can you believe almost nobody does that anymore?

For those of you who need a primer on the Staples Jrs. (no relation to that other band you’re thinking of): They are the Browns, a family of ten who came of age in the ’60s in a small rural town called Aberdeen, in northeast Mississippi between the black prairie and the pines. Back then, the South was desegregated on paper but not always in practice. Their parents found refuge and support in the church against the backdrop of an unwelcoming town (and nation), while the kids found refuge and a greater purpose in life in the music.

Every weekend, when everyone was off from work, the family would pile into their van and travel across the Bible Belt to gospel programs and talent shows in the region. Excited audiences would flock to them afterwards, telling them, “Y’all sound like the Staple Singers, y’all should call yourselves the little Staple Jr. Singers!” And so they did.

Release notes

After the worldwide success of their 1975 album "When Do We Get Paid," reissued in 2022, The Staples Jr Singers — the family gospel trio of siblings Edward Brown, R.C. Brown, and Annie Brown Caldwell — are set to release their first album in nearly 50 years, titled "Searching" via Luaka Bop. The Singers recorded Searching live over two evenings in October 2023 from a single-room church in West Point, Mississippi called The Message Center. Produced by Ahmed Gallab, who performs as the artist Sinkane, and engineered by Albert Di Fiore, the siblings—Edward, R.C., and Annie, alongside their rhythm section (R.C’s son Gary, his grandson Jaylin, and Edward’s son Troy)—sat in a semicircle, some even on pews, playing their music in a room as it was meant to be played. “The process was very easy,” said Gallab. “There’s nothing like a family bond/band. It was so special to watch how locked into each other everyone was. You can hear and feel that on this record. Their remarkable journey shines through on the album, showcasing a captivating set of gospel, blues, and soul. In June/July they’ll return to Europe for a tour that includes headline shows in Manchester & London and Paris on a double bill with Gregory Porter.

Searching Tracklist

1. Living In This World Alone

2. Lost In A World Of Sin

3. You Got To Believe

4. Walk Around Heaven

5. I’ve Got A Feeling

6. Don’t Need No Doctor

7. I Don’t Need Nobody But You

8. Get On Board

Staples Jr. Singers Tour Dates:

Sat. June 29 – Paris, FR @ TBA

Sun. June 30 – Manchester, UK @ Band on the Wall

Tue. July 2 - London, UK @ 229

Thu. July 4 – Roskilde, DK @ Roskilde Festival

Fri. July 5 – Haarlem, NL @ Patronaat

 Sat. July 6 – Rotterdam, NL @ BIRD

Wed. July 12 – Barcelona, ES @ Jamboree - 

Thu. July 13 – Martorell, ES @ PAS

Fri. July 14 – Oldenburg, DE @ Kultursommer

July 16 – Frankfurt, DE @ Palmengarten

Tue. Oct 15 – Prague, CZ @ Palac Akropolis

Fri. Oct 18 – Stockholm, SE @ Stockholm Jazz Festival

Thu. Oct 24 – Oslo, NO @ Cosmopolite

Tickets: 

https://staplesjrsingers.com/?id=tour

Availability

Searching releases June 14 via Luaka Bop

Preorder: 

https://luakabop.lnk.to/Searching