A Letter From Candi Staton (+ reissue DNSCR002)

Lewisdnsc · January 24, 2020

A Letter From Candi Staton.

Reissue link (£10 via Bandcamp) >> https://bit.ly/2uTMEOU

In 1967, I was a 26 year old, bored housewife. I had a jealous husband who didn't ever want me to leave the house. My pastor had fired me from my church organist gig and banned me from his flock because he heard that I had a TV in my house. He said TV was evil. I felt like a prisoner with no creative outlet. My brother, Sam, noticed my depression and he felt I should be singing even though my husband didn't want me to sing professionally like I did when I was a teenager on the gospel circuit. Sam pulled me out of the house and started introducing me to Birmingham, Alabama's music scene. He wanted me to hit the clubs and sign up for amateur night contests.

"Why don't you learn some songs other than gospel songs," Sam fussed at me because he knew I only knew gospel songs. "Why don't you learn some songs like Aretha Franklin sings or like Etta James. Learn some of them kind of songs so you can get a job in a club."

Sam already had a club in mind. The 27/28 Club. He knew the owner O.J. who also owned a local funeral parlor. They were both masons and belonged to the same lodge. I had been hearing Aretha Franklin's "Do Right Woman" on the radio around that time, so I learned that song. On that Saturday night, I sang the song. I won the contest. They clapped me back for an encore but I didn't know another R&B song, so I did the same one all over again. O.J.was happy with my performance and hired me to start singing there on weekends.

The more I sang around the city, the more people I met. A DJ friend of mine introduced me to Bob Grove who owned a local record label, Unity Records. I went over there and hung out a little bit. Mr. Grove told me he had the perfect song to be my first record, "Now, You've Got The Upper Hand." It was a bouncy Motown type of song. He put me in a recording booth and I did it and that was it. I think he paid me something like $20 and a few weeks later, I held my very first 45 single in my hand.

The record received a little bit of local airplay, but nothing happened nationally. It was a disappointment but it whet my appetite to record more music and to seek a career in music full time. I did another record with a guy named Billy Walker for Minaret Records in Florida but nothing happened with that either. However, in this same period, I opened for Clarence Carter at the 27/28 Club. He liked me and took me under his wing. I started opening up for him on the road and eventually he introduced me to Rick Hall at Fame Records and the rest is history.

In the early 2010s, I was doing a concert tour in the United Kingdom and the promoter asked me if I would include "Now, You've Got the Upper Hand" in my set list. At first, I wondered why he wanted me to sing that song. I told him that no one knows that song, so it's probably not a good idea for me to sing that. He told me the song had become a classic in the Northern Soul scene in England. I was shocked. I had absolutely no idea that there was this underground audience of fans for the song. So, I added it to the setlist and to my surprise, every night of the tour, the song got a great response.

When people would greet me after the show, they'd say they never thought they'd get to see me sing the song live and how it's one of their favorites.

So, that's why I'm so happy that Deptford Northern Soul Club has remastered the song and is now introducing my very first solo record to a new generation of people. I hope you enjoy it.

Candi Staton, 2020

Reissue link (£10 via Bandcamp) >> https://bit.ly/2uTMEOU

More about the Reissue here >> https://deptfordnorthernsoulclub.co.uk/DNSCR002

‘Candi Staton DNSCR002’ high quality embroidered patch. Free with pre-orders of DNSCR002. Iron on backing. 4 In. Limited edition of 300.