The Staple Singers, the Black Music Archive & more
The Staple Singers, the Black Music Archive & more
The latest on an upcoming Staple Singers reissue, my collaboration with the Black Music Archive, the Sandra Crouch podcast episode & more!
The Staple Singers
I’m incredibly excited to share about this upcoming Staple Singers release from Omnivore Recordings, Africa 80. It’s a rare live recording from a less celebrated and less documented era of The Staple Singers’ history. The early seventies were the height of the group’s career at Stax Records. When Stax folded, the migrated to Warner Brothers where the hits decreased. But even without a label deal, the group was able to tour consistently. In partnership with the US government, the Staples embarked on a tour in 1980 that took them through Europe and on what is believed to be their first full-fledged tour of the African continent (There are well-documented performances in Ghana and South Africa at various points in the seventies).
I was asked to write the liner notes for this incredible, tour de force performance from one of the stops on this tour and it was a true honor to chronicle the story of this trailblazing family. You can pre-order this historic recording at Omnivore’s website, Amazon or any of the online stores!
The track listing for this live performance is:
INTRODUCTION
EASE ON DOWN THE ROAD
LET’S DO IT AGAIN
RESPECT YOURSELF
COME GO WITH ME
WHY AM I TREATED SO BAD
A HOUSE IS NOT A HOME
WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN
HE’S ALRIGHT
TOUCH A HAND, MAKE A FRIEND
TOUCH A HAND, MAKE A FRIEND (Reprise)
Black Music Archive Collaboration
I did a lot of freelance work last year! Milik Kashad, founder of the Black Music Archive, reached out to me about crafting a script to accompany his interview with three-time Grammy winning Roots Music artist, Ruthie Foster, that tells a portion of the very broad story of the contributions of Black artists to Americana. Thank you to Milik for allowing me to be a part of this story that weaves gospel, country, folk, blues, soul and Women’s Music together. I hope you enjoy it!
The Podcast: A Conversation About Sandra Crouch
As I mentioned in last week’s post about Sandra Crouch, singer/songwriter/social commentator Dara Tucker and I got together to have a conversation about the importance of Sandra Crouch’s life and work. It’s little later than promised, but it’s here!
The Latest for Paid Subscribers
Welcome to all of the new paid subscribers!
I wanted to share some of the most recent posts that are exclusively for paid subscribers in case anyone wants to upgrade! To upgrade, click here!
![March Radio Show/Episode 4 [For Paid Subscribers]](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1300,h_650,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6e90ee44-4073-4423-9c1a-8f87d1b05de6_256x256.png)
![January's Radio Show/Episode 2 [For Paid Subscribers Only]](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1300,h_650,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8d438cb0-cb76-42a9-9fd0-d53f036d6126_1080x1350.jpeg)
I love the Staple Singers. Dig my grave with a silver spoon (or was it golden?) I am looking forward to listening to the interview about Sandra Crouch. And I am loving the Gospel Hours with DJ Elder Tim!
Awesome post and so excited about the Staple Singers project-- they're one of my all-time favorites. I remember seeing them as a kid at the height of their commercial success, performing at the Fairmont Hotel Venetian Room in San Francisco. I met and Pops Staples the next day in the coffee shop and he was such a lovely guy. Mavis will always be one of my favorite voices in any genre at any time. Just ordered the album!!!