b. Canzetta Maria Staton, 13th March 1943, Hanceville, Alabama, U.S.A.
Candi Staton is a former member of the Jewell Gospel Trio.
Her father worked as a farmer in the summer and was a coal miner in the winter.
At the age of 8, Candi was already singing in a gospel group, the Four Golden Echoes, whose line-up comprised of Canzetta Staton, Maggie Staton, Leatha Mae Malcolm and Betty Jean Byers.
When she was ten, her mother moved the family north to Cleveland in order to escape her alcoholic husband.
Candi (and her sister) were then sent to the Jewell Christian Academy in Nashville, Tennessee.
canzetta staton, maggie staton and naomi harrison
At the Academy, she and her sister were paired with another child forming the Jewell Gospel Trio at the request of the Academy's pastors.
Under the direction of Nettie Mae Harrison, the trio were one of the few Gospel groups to have a full band in those days, and comprised of Canzetta and Maggie Staton and Naomi Harrison.
jewell gospel trio and band
The band comprised of Lorenzo Harrison (Hawaiian/Bass Guitar), Harvey Jones (Rhythm Guitar), Cooroneva Burns (Drums) and Bobby Powell (Piano).
The trio, susequently, toured the gospel circuit in the 1950's with the Soul Stirrers, the Staples Singers, Aretha Franklin, C. L. Franklin, and Mahalia Jackson.
The girls also recorded for several imprints, including Aladdin (in 1953), Nashbro (between 1955 and 1958), Apollo, and Savoy Records.
By the late Sixties, Candi left the trio (leaving her first husband Joe Williams in 1968, after 9 years of marriage) and began a career as a Southern Soul songstress.
She was then discovered performing at a club by Clarence Carter, who took the singer to Rick Hall's Fame studio's.
i'm just a prisoner - 1969 / stand by your man - 1971
candi staton - 1972 / candi - 1974
Clarence penned her debut single, 'I'd Rather Be An Old Man's Sweetheart (Than A Young Man's Fool)', and helped Candi with her early career.
Candi was titled ''First Lady of Southern Soul, relating to her Grammy-nominated R & B versions of Tammy Wynette's song, 'Stand by Your Man' and 'In the Ghetto'.
In 1972, Candi made an appearance on the legendary Soul Train television show.
Candi and Clarence Carter were, by now, married in 1970, however, the marriage was later to end in divorce in 1973.
On leaving Fame for Warner Brothers Records in 1974 and a year later she began collaborating with the producer David Crawford.
young hearts run free - 1976 / music speaks louder than words - 1977
In 1976, 'Young Hearts Run Free', was released, a song which took Candi to number two on the U.K. pop charts.
The song was later remixed and re-released in 1986 reaching the top 50.
The next release, 'Destiny' reached the top 50 in the U.K.
'Nights On Broadway', written by the Bee Gees, then became a U.K. Top 10 single in 1977.
house of love - 1978 / chance - 1979
candi staton - 1980 / nightlites - 1982
In 1978 she made the top 50 again with 'Honest I Do I Love You', which was followed into the charts again by 'Suspicious Minds' in 1982, a song taken from the Sugarhill Records album 'Nightlites'.
Later in 1982, Candi returned to Gospel music.
make me an instrument - 1997 / cover me - 1997
Candi married her fourth husband, John Sussewell (drummer for Ashford & Simpson), that year, and the pair founded Beracah Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.
She later recorded eight Gospel albums, two of which received Grammy Award nominations.
Candi had continued success in the U.K., with 'You Got The Love', a collaboration with the Force, being a popular dancefloor track and a U.K. Top 40 hit in 1991.
Candi signed with Intersound Records in 1995.
Candi made a return to the U.K. charts in 1997 with a further re-release of 'Young Hearts Run Free', prompted by its inclusion on the soundtrack of the film 'Romeo & Juliet'.
In 2001, Candi toured the UK with Shalamar.
In 2004, Honest Jon's released a compilation CD of her country-soul work from the late 1960s and early 1970s, entitled 'Candi Staton'.
his hands - 2006 / who's hurting now? - 2009
In 2006 she released the album 'His Hands', with two of her children joining her on the CD.
In 2007, Candi was inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame.
In 2009, Candi's television show 'New Direction' is showing on TBN, whilst a further album for Honest Jon's is due, entitled 'Who's Hurting Now?'.
Albums:
I'm Just A Prisoner (Fame Records 1969)
Stand By Your Man (Fame Records 1971)
Candi Staton (Fame Records 1972)
Candi (Fame Records 1974)
Young Hearts Run Free (Warners Records 1976)
Music Speaks Louder Than Words (Warners Records 1977)
House Of Love (Warners Records 1978)
Chance (Warners Records 1979)
Candi Staton (Warners Records 1980)
Nightlites (Sugarhill Records 1982)
Make Me An Instrument (Beracah Records 1985)
Sing A Song (Beracah Records 1986)
Love Lifted Me (Beracah Records 1988)
Stand Up And Be A Witness (Beracah Records 1990)
Standing On The Promises (Beracah Records 1991)
I Give You Praise (Beracah Records 1993)
It's Time (Intersound Records 1995)
Cover Me (CGI Records 1997)
Here's A Blessing (CGI Records 2000)
Proverbs 31 Woman (CGI Records 2002)
His Hands (Astralwerks Records / Honest Jon's 2006)
I Will Sing My Praise To You (Emtro Gospel Records 2008)
Who's Hurting Now? (Parlophone Records / Honest Jon's 2009)
Life Happens (Beracah Records 2014)
It's Time To Be Free (Beracah Records 2016)
