"When you think about the lyric ‘Sometimes I feel like throwing my hands up in the air' it's like – 'Well, who doesn’t right now?'"
It’s one of the most enduring vocal performances of all time, sung by an incredible talent. Candi Staton’s name is inseparable from ‘You Got the Love’ (not that we’re in any way trying to tear the two of them apart) but it is by no means the only highlight of a career that has spanned a staggering six decades. Now – and not for the first time – Candi is dipping her highly experienced toes into the shimmering pool of House music, and going about it with more than a little style.
Candi Staton
It’s impossible to meet Candi Staton and not ask her about ‘that track’ or the recent cover by Florence and the Machine that’s been hammered at festivals on the radio across Europe for the last six months or so. What does she make of it all? “I think it’s great, it’s wonderful. I think she did a great job and she got the Brit award for it and it’s so wonderful that they would bring attention to that song. It’s such a good and uplifting song. I think it’s a wonderful eye-opener for young people to hear and appreciate a positive message instead of so many negative messages that we sometimes hear on the radio”.
What with Flo et al doing such a good job on ‘You Got The Love’ and her own recent releases one could argue that Candi’s profile has never been bigger, both here in Europe and back home in the States. “Yes I would say so.” she agrees. “I’m pretty sure that it is, what with the new records and stuff that I’ve done over the last 4 years with EMI and Honest John, so I guess it would be – especially in Europe. The entire Warner Bros back catalogue is now on iTunes so there has been a lot of downloads of all the older stuff that I’ve done and new stuff that I’ve done”.
Florence Welch performs 'You Got The Love' at London's Lovebox
Brought up in Hanceville, Alabama during the 50’s, Candi’s early musical exposure was to soul music, her early influences ranging from B.B. King and Ruth Brown to Hank Williams Sr. She started singing in the local gospel choir at the age of four, although it wasn't until several years later in 1968 when an impromptu take on Aretha’s 'Do Right Woman' won her a gig opening for R&B star Clarence Carter. Over the next five years and in partnership with Fame Records' Rick Hall, she released more than a dozen soul songs, earning her the title of 'First Lady of Southern Soul' and cementing her position as one of the great soul vocalists. Limiting her talents to just one genre failed to satisfy her however, and in 1976 to the delight of dancefloors around the globe she released the million-selling ‘Young Hearts Run Free’ earning her disco-diva status and giving the club-going youth an anthem for their generation.
To Candi however, the lines between the genres are more blurred than record companies would have us believe. "I think Soul music is nothing but gospel music it’s just the lyrics that are different" she says. "They have the same chord changes and you get the same feeling from a ‘soul’ song as you would do from a 'gospel' song. I could sing a blues song right now and it would sound like a gospel song if you put the words ‘Jesus’ or ‘God’ into it - it would be the same thing”.
So is house music just disco repackaged for a different generation? “That's a wonderful way of describing it” she smiles. “That’s exactly what it is. We just give names to different things and we go by titles. With house or disco music the name ‘disco’ was somewhat buried, but now it’s rolling again with a different name and it’s called House music. It’s the same beats, it’s the same feel and it’s the same everything! Nothing’s really changed that much and I think it’s wonderful and I love doing it. It’s so energetic and it keeps people dancing and if there’s one thing I love to see it’s to see people dance and I love to see them enjoy them-selves. Life is just too short to be depressed!”
She speaks out of optimism, but also out of experience. By 1983, Staton had overcome an alcohol addiction, joined a church, and left pop music behind, becoming a regular on Christian television programmes and even getting her own weekly show. “The church and gospel music would always keep me grounded even when I was going through the stage when I was into alcohol a lot and when I’d strayed away from the foundational standards that my mother had set me. It has always kept me grounded because there were certain things that I wouldn’t do that people who didn’t have any kind of standard’s or boundaries would do”. Is this how she resisted the temptations of a ‘rock ‘n’ roll’ lifestyle? “Oh yeah totally” she admits “for example alcohol and drugs and all that stuff. I never really got into hard drugs because of the standard that my mum set for me".
Candi is now entering a new phase in her life, both professionally and personally “I got married a couple of months ago!” she exclaimed happily. “I had so much agony and pain in marriage and I vowed never to get married again, but I met this wonderful man who is a retired major league baseball player. His name is Otis Nixon and he’s played in almost every major baseball league in the country!”
Professionally too, she’s moving in a different direction to how she might be traditionally known, although it’s not the first time she’s leant her sizeable vocal talents to the house sound. In 2007 she collaborated with Groove Armada on ‘Love Sweet Sound’ and just last year the vocal for her 1989 track ‘Musical Freedom’ was reworked by the Shapeshifters for today’s dancefloors. Now she written and performed vocals for Rasmus Faber & Ralf Tumble on ‘Wilder Side’, a track for which Candi found inspiration in an unlikely place.
Rasmus Faber
“I was actually at the mall when I wrote the words" she laughs "There was this couple who were just clowning around and acting up, they were laughing and having fun, and I thought to myself ‘Boy, they’ve got a wild side!’” So, what with the new hubby and all, is this a song about Candi Staton? “Well not necessarily, it could be about anybody. It’s just a fun record. It’s like a girl talking to a guy and she’s saying so much that I want to say ‘I need your love in so many ways’. And she’s also saying ‘Hey, I’ve been depressed and sitting alone in the house a lot doing nothing, but I’ve got a side that you haven’t seen for a while so let’s bring it out! Let’s dance, let’s go to a club let’s enjoy ourselves tonight because I want to feel free!’”
It’s a sentiment that Candi clearly advocates. In 2008 she played the Other stage at Glastonbury and loved the experience almost as much as did the people she was performing for. “It was wonderful! I enjoyed every moment of it. The audience were just ecstatic, and I got so involved with the audience, they knew every song, and I always said that if I forgot my lyrics I’ll just read their lips! It was just marvellous and I thank God that I was able to do it and that I got such a wonderful reaction from them.” Is it an experience she’d like to repeat? “I would love to do it again someday. I hope Glastonbury doesn’t ever fold because it’s such a wonderful outlet for artists.” Those wanting to catch Candi in action however need not wait for Mr. Eavis to book her again; she’s playing a rare UK gig at London’s matter on Saturday 10th April.
Candi onstage at Glastonbury 2008
What cannot be questioned is that Candi is one of the most loved and experienced women still working in the industry. And working she is – she’s currently working on lyrics for a new song of her own ad well as co-writing with other artists and DJs (“It takes me away from the mundane!”). Plus she’s currently working on her autobiography which she expects to be finished later this year. So with her obvious wealth of experience, what advice would she offer young bucks wishing to follow in her sizeable footsteps? “I would say to these young people that it takes a lot of perseverance and it takes a lot of focus. You can’t afford to get distracted. You know what’s in your heart, and your heart should tell what to do. It ultimately depends on how badly you want it.” she admits “There’s a lot people out there who have got talent but they don’t want it badly enough. They just end up sitting around knowing that they can sing and knowing that they have a talent but they don’t use it because perhaps they’re following someone else’s lead. You have to follow your own lead, your own mind and your own heart and if you do that it’s going to lead you in the right direction”.
Wise words indeed from a lady of…how old did she say she was again? “Let’s leave that for people to figure out for themselves” she laughs.
Words: Greg Sawyer
Rasmus Faber & Alf Tumble feat. Candi Staton is out now - click to listen & buy
