OPEN POST: Manor Music Monday With Candi Staton!

Welcome music sloots, to another edition of Music Manor Monday! Tonight, at the Manor's "Lost Sheep Lounge and Dinette," DJ Li'l Scratch will be spinning tunes by a criminally-unheralded vocal artist, the one and only Candi Staton, a Southern-Soul dynamo whose been married five times (once to Clarence Carter), charted hits across five decades, beat breast cancer's ass, and in 2025, received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the UK Americana Awards. Which is just another way of saying that she really and truly is all that (as the kids used to say).

Candi's life has been a whirlwind of extraordinary talent mixed with heart-wrenching, sometimes shocking, adversity. As a child, her family faced dire poverty and soul-crushing physical abusive from their alcoholic father. Luckily, by age 11, Candi revealed that she had powerful voice chops, and with her sister, joined The Jewell Gospel Trio. They were quickly discovered by talent scouts, thereafter touring throughout the U.S. with gospel legends like Mahalia Jackson and the Soul Stirrers, giving Candi her first taste of fame. Yet her path onward was far from easy. She was in an abusive marriage with her first husband, Joe Williams, and at one point, her father-in-law, a Pentecostal minister, cruelly disowned her - and merely for owning a television set, a device he called "the devil box." After leaving Joe, Candi was back to square one, working at a nursing home by day and singing in a bar at night to support her children.

Happily, her career took a joyous, head-spinning turn when she was discovered by Clarence Carter in a talent contest in 1968. This led to a contract with Fame Studios, where she earned the title, "First Lady of Southern Soul." There, she released a string of R&B hits, including her Grammy-nominated cover of "Stand by Your Man." Yet as her fame grew, so did her struggles. In 1976, she collaborated on the song, "Young Hearts Run Free," which became a massive international disco anthem, but the song was also defiant statement of independence, inspired by her own difficulties in yet another abusive relationship with her third husband, who threatened to kill her if she dared leave him.

The pressures of stardom and violent personal turmoil at last led her to a pivotal decision. In the early 1980s, she returned to her gospel roots, and even formed her own ministry, and while she recorded a series of successful gospel albums, the world of pop music wasn't ready to let go of her. In 1991, her song "You Got the Love" with The Source was remixed, becoming an unexpected dance classic and an anthem for a new generation.

For me, Candi remains an amazing talent. She's equally at home performing gospel, pop, soul, acid house, disco and just about any other genre or song she sets her sights on. In other words, she's the living history of popular music from the late-1950s to the present, all in one powerhouse package, who's weathered more knocks than most - and still stands tall. "Here I Am Again," a compelling soul ballad, may as well be her theme song.

And, oh, yes, did I mention? This year, Candi released her new album, "Back to My Roots," a smashing, gospel-tinged entry with soulful renditions of songs by The Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley, Al Green and more. And trust me, her dynamic voice is undiminished by time, Want more Candi? I know you do. Listen to her collection of hits right here: 

What are you listening to this week? DJ Li'l Scratch wants to know.
Till next time...purr, bitches, purr! 🐾

Photo Credits: Getty Images; Universal Music Group