On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. speaks with Soul music legend Candi Staton.
Staton just finished her sold-out, 'Young Hearts Run Free 40th Anniversary' concert tour of Europe and has now released her first gospel album since 2008 entitled ‘It’s Time To Be Free.’
Staton has sung professionally since the age of ten when she joined The Jewel Gospel Trio that toured the world in the 1950s and shared stages with gospel greats such as Mahalia Jackson and Sam Cooke & The Soul Stirrers.
Staton launched her solo career in 1969 when she signed with FAME Records and released a dozen Top Ten R&B hits with the Muscle Shoals sound such as “I’m Just A Prisoner (Of Your Good Lovin’)” and “Stand By Your Man.” She finished the `70s decade as a disco star with classic songs such as “Victim,” “When You Wake Up Tomorrow” and 1976’s No. 1 smash “Young Hearts Run Free.” In 1982, Staton returned to her gospel roots and hosted a Christian cable TV program for 20 years. Her 1986 gospel hit “You Got The Love” is her signature song throughout Europe where various remixes of the platinum-selling song have hit the UK Top Pop Ten in 1991, 1997 and 2006.
Since 2006, Staton has recorded three well-received Americana/Blues albums including 2014’s Top Ten hit “Life Happens.”
