 |
| It's fine. But their dad was a cop. I'm still... |
The Hit
The Five Stairsteps, “O-o-h Child” recalls such a vivid memory for me that it’s pretty much all I think of when I hear the song. A friend of mine went to Evergreen State College and, on one of the many visits, we went on a road-trip with a bunch of friends - think this was to the Oregon Coast, actually. Because we piled God knows how many people into too few cars, I had no seat, so I lounged across the back. That was first time I’d heard “O-o-h Child,” and when it came on, my head was resting in a woman’s lap, someone I’d just met. She was singing along, like everyone else, but watching her sing is the only thing I remember.
There’s no story after that; she never became a friend or a girlfriend (though I did meet her once later and that weekend came up, and there was a definite, "oh, shit, why didn't we?!" conversation); it was just that moment, watching a young woman sing a beautiful, heartwarming, hopeful song flush with the optimism of youth. She sang it like she believed it, and that felt very true in the moment…
…what was I talking about again? In all seriousness, I love this one. Great instrumentation, great open spaces for the vocals, a killer chorus, and an outro that sends you to the moon. And yet there's more...
The Rest of the Story
I almost covered The Five Stairsteps in a train-wreck I cobbled together about Super K Productions/Buddah Records, but I held back when I spotted them on the list of one-hit wonders I’m mining for all this. That’s probably for the best because The Five Stairsteps make for an odd fit in the Buddah Records extended universe (e.g., a lot of white garage bands from Ohio).
The Five Stairsteps, “O-o-h Child” recalls such a vivid memory for me that it’s pretty much all I think of when I hear the song. A friend of mine went to Evergreen State College and, on one of the many visits, we went on a road-trip with a bunch of friends - think this was to the Oregon Coast, actually. Because we piled God knows how many people into too few cars, I had no seat, so I lounged across the back. That was first time I’d heard “O-o-h Child,” and when it came on, my head was resting in a woman’s lap, someone I’d just met. She was singing along, like everyone else, but watching her sing is the only thing I remember.
There’s no story after that; she never became a friend or a girlfriend (though I did meet her once later and that weekend came up, and there was a definite, "oh, shit, why didn't we?!" conversation); it was just that moment, watching a young woman sing a beautiful, heartwarming, hopeful song flush with the optimism of youth. She sang it like she believed it, and that felt very true in the moment…
…what was I talking about again? In all seriousness, I love this one. Great instrumentation, great open spaces for the vocals, a killer chorus, and an outro that sends you to the moon. And yet there's more...
The Rest of the Story
I almost covered The Five Stairsteps in a train-wreck I cobbled together about Super K Productions/Buddah Records, but I held back when I spotted them on the list of one-hit wonders I’m mining for all this. That’s probably for the best because The Five Stairsteps make for an odd fit in the Buddah Records extended universe (e.g., a lot of white garage bands from Ohio).
The Five Stairsteps came out of Chicago as a family act under the guidance of their parents, Betty and Clarence Burke Sr. Clarence Sr. was a detective with the Chicago P.D., but he also played a couple instruments (he backed The Five Stairsteps on guitar and bass, apart from managing them) and he knew some helpful people - notably, Fred Cash of The Impressions (theseguys). Their kids formed the band - in age order, Clarence Jr., Alohe, Dennis, James, Kenneth “Keni,” and, much later, Hubie - with Clarence Sr. and Clarence Jr. writing their material with help from a guy named Gregory Fowler. The name for the act came to Betty Burke when she saw her kids standing lined up by age; they looked like five stairsteps, you see…
The Five Stairsteps caught their break when they won a talent contest at Chicago’s Regal Theater. Local companies offered them recording contracts, including Curtis Mayfield’s Windy City imprint, who signed them and looked to Philadelphia’s Cameo-Parkway for distribution. Mayfield even dished them their first single in 1966, a b-side titled “Don’t Waste Your Time” (the a-side, “You Waited Too Long” came from Fowler. The single did well on the R&B charts (No. 16), but Cameo-Parkway folded, leaving them in the market for a new label. In a 2012 interview, Keni Burke noted they had a shot at signing with Motown Records, but Clarence Sr. guided them to Buddah Records, for good or ill, where he thought they’d have a better handle on creative control.
The Five Stairsteps caught their break when they won a talent contest at Chicago’s Regal Theater. Local companies offered them recording contracts, including Curtis Mayfield’s Windy City imprint, who signed them and looked to Philadelphia’s Cameo-Parkway for distribution. Mayfield even dished them their first single in 1966, a b-side titled “Don’t Waste Your Time” (the a-side, “You Waited Too Long” came from Fowler. The single did well on the R&B charts (No. 16), but Cameo-Parkway folded, leaving them in the market for a new label. In a 2012 interview, Keni Burke noted they had a shot at signing with Motown Records, but Clarence Sr. guided them to Buddah Records, for good or ill, where he thought they’d have a better handle on creative control.
Here’s where I step back in to confess that (bad researcher!) I couldn’t make myself sit through audio interviews and that’s a lot of what you get with The Five Stairsteps; I left a lot in the table, in other words. I might have missed some gold nuggets - e.g., the thing about Clarence Sr. passing on Motown - but some quick math makes me doubt there’s a lot of story to tell. When they won the contest at the Regal in 1965, Keni Burke was 13(?); by the time Clarence Sr. made an appearance on To Tell the Truth (start watching around 16:00), he gave his children’s ages as 18 (Clarence Jr.) to 2 (Hubie, clearly not involved yet) (Also, they played “Danger! She’s a Stranger” after Clarence Sr.’s reveal). That means that, by the time “O-o-h Child” dropped in 1970, Clarence Jr. was 21 and Keni was all of 16. Alohe checked out by 1972 (for a spiritual journey, higher education and eventually work on academia) and, while they kept plugging away - sometimes as The Stairsteps, sometimes as The Five Stairsteps - they more or less folded as an act by 1976…when Keni was 22…and I keep bringing him up for a reason.
“O-o-h Child” sold over 1 million copies and climbed as high as No. 8 on the Billboard (only No. 14 on the R&B charts); even the b-side, a fluid cover of The Beatles’ “Dear Prudence” with some slick vocal phrasing, made it to No. 46. While they never broke into Billboard’s Top 40 again - this site’s official cutoff for a second “hit” - The Five Stairsteps singles made regular appearances int Billboard’s Top 100 for nearly five years, with many of them breaking into the top 20 on the R&B charts. They had their second highest-charting hit as late as 1976 with “From Us to You” (No. 10 on the R&B) from Second Resurrection in that same year. They had a run…
Now, back to Keni Burke, he kicked off a career as a solo artist with an eponymous album in 1977, but he also became a session bass player with a long list of interested clients. For fun:
“Sly & the Family Stone, Natalie Cole, Billy Preston, Les McCann, the Emotions, Raffi and The Four Tops to Redman, Terry Callier, Stargard, Curtis Mayfield, Bill Withers, Linda Clifford, Silk, Narada Michael Walden, Ramsey Lewis, Dusty Springfield, Diana Ross and Gladys Knight.” [Ed. - He joined Withers’ band around the time of Menagerie, which had this hit for reference; Keni Burke, y'all...]
Keni Burke’s greatest legacy showed up on his 1982 solo album, Changes, with a song titled “Risin’ to the Top.” First, Rick James borrowed to create “All Night Long” for an act he managed called The Mary Jane Girls. Rap artists came next - Erik B & Rakim, then MC Shan - but it took Doug E. Fresh’s “Keep Risin’ to the Top” (1988) to make the bassline a staple sample for dozens of hip hop artists (e.g., Diddy, J Dilla, Madlib, LL Cool J, etc.).
Put it all together, and that’s a handful of careers, one steady presence in an entire era of music, plus damn influential sample. And it started with a detective with the Chicago P.D.
About the Sampler
It’s possible Spotify shorted The Five Stairsteps a bit when it comes to what they had access to. In terms of music that I liked, personally, I’m guessing their remasters of old Buddah Records recordings gave the best taste of their sound. I actually picked a couple of their hits accidentally - “You Waited Too Long” is above, but there’s also “Don’t Change Your Love,” “You Don’t Love Me” (see below about standards) and, personal (new) favorite, “Because I Love You” - but, more to the point, all of that and “Playgirl’s Love” (motown) should give you enough to make a decision. For what it’s worth, I couldn’t make it through Our Family Portrait more than twice, but Stairsteps has some good ones - e.g., “Madame Mary” (definitely 70s funk), “Who Do You Belong To” (they did briefly sign with George Harrison), and “Vice the Lights” (late funk/proto-disco?).
Based on all that, “O-o-h Child” is a bit of an outlier for them. A lot of their ballad numbers tread perilously close to standards, but I like their funk/soul numbers enough to make me thankful they took a pass on Motown.
“O-o-h Child” sold over 1 million copies and climbed as high as No. 8 on the Billboard (only No. 14 on the R&B charts); even the b-side, a fluid cover of The Beatles’ “Dear Prudence” with some slick vocal phrasing, made it to No. 46. While they never broke into Billboard’s Top 40 again - this site’s official cutoff for a second “hit” - The Five Stairsteps singles made regular appearances int Billboard’s Top 100 for nearly five years, with many of them breaking into the top 20 on the R&B charts. They had their second highest-charting hit as late as 1976 with “From Us to You” (No. 10 on the R&B) from Second Resurrection in that same year. They had a run…
Now, back to Keni Burke, he kicked off a career as a solo artist with an eponymous album in 1977, but he also became a session bass player with a long list of interested clients. For fun:
“Sly & the Family Stone, Natalie Cole, Billy Preston, Les McCann, the Emotions, Raffi and The Four Tops to Redman, Terry Callier, Stargard, Curtis Mayfield, Bill Withers, Linda Clifford, Silk, Narada Michael Walden, Ramsey Lewis, Dusty Springfield, Diana Ross and Gladys Knight.” [Ed. - He joined Withers’ band around the time of Menagerie, which had this hit for reference; Keni Burke, y'all...]
Keni Burke’s greatest legacy showed up on his 1982 solo album, Changes, with a song titled “Risin’ to the Top.” First, Rick James borrowed to create “All Night Long” for an act he managed called The Mary Jane Girls. Rap artists came next - Erik B & Rakim, then MC Shan - but it took Doug E. Fresh’s “Keep Risin’ to the Top” (1988) to make the bassline a staple sample for dozens of hip hop artists (e.g., Diddy, J Dilla, Madlib, LL Cool J, etc.).
Put it all together, and that’s a handful of careers, one steady presence in an entire era of music, plus damn influential sample. And it started with a detective with the Chicago P.D.
About the Sampler
It’s possible Spotify shorted The Five Stairsteps a bit when it comes to what they had access to. In terms of music that I liked, personally, I’m guessing their remasters of old Buddah Records recordings gave the best taste of their sound. I actually picked a couple of their hits accidentally - “You Waited Too Long” is above, but there’s also “Don’t Change Your Love,” “You Don’t Love Me” (see below about standards) and, personal (new) favorite, “Because I Love You” - but, more to the point, all of that and “Playgirl’s Love” (motown) should give you enough to make a decision. For what it’s worth, I couldn’t make it through Our Family Portrait more than twice, but Stairsteps has some good ones - e.g., “Madame Mary” (definitely 70s funk), “Who Do You Belong To” (they did briefly sign with George Harrison), and “Vice the Lights” (late funk/proto-disco?).
Based on all that, “O-o-h Child” is a bit of an outlier for them. A lot of their ballad numbers tread perilously close to standards, but I like their funk/soul numbers enough to make me thankful they took a pass on Motown.
No comments:
Post a Comment