The general public knows
Candi Staton as the disco-diva who, in the seventies, scored smash hits like
Young Hearts Run Free and
Victim. However, Staton primarily is a soul singer, who - as customary in the fifties and sixties – started her career in the traditional American gospel circuit. So it was obvious that Staton returned to gospel in the eighties, when her record company wasn’t interested in her soul career anymore. Over the last decades she’s been singing a lot in churches and she released mainly gospel albums. Stimulated by the successful re-releases of her earlier soul albums, the umpteenth re-release of her 1992 pop hit
You Got the Love, and the recently released album
His Hands, Candi Staton is working on a serious comeback as a soul singer. During her concert in a loaded Amsterdam Paradiso a couple of months ago, Staton emphasized the fact that she still is one of the most energetic live acts around. Thanks to her rich, warm and sometimes raw voice, she had the public in no time adoringly at her feet.
