I'll Take You There

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"I'll Take You There" is a number-one single recorded by soul/gospel family band The Staple Singers, released on Stax Records in 1972 (see 1972 in music). Included on the group's 1972 album Be Altitude: Respect Yourself, "I'll Take You There" features lead singer Mavis Staples inviting her listeners to seek heaven. A large portion of the song is set aside for Mavis' sisters Cleotha and Yvonne and their father "Pops" to perform solos on their respective instruments. The song's introduction was lifted from a Jamaican instrumental reggae tune titled The Liquidator.

Bolstered by a "feel-good" vibe, "I'll Take You There" peaked at number-one on the Billboard R&B Singles chart for four weeks May of 1972. In June, "I'll Take You There" reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for one week. The single, inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999, remains the most successful and recognizable single of the Staples' half-century-long career.

[edit] Notable Remakes

• "I'll Take You There" returned to number one on the R&B chart in 1992 when it was covered by Bebe Winans and Cece Winans, with Mavis Staples featured as a guest artist on the track. The single also made #90 on the Hot 100.
• In 1994, the British band General Public released a cover of "I'll Take You There" featured in the Lara Flynn Boyle/Stephen Baldwin film Threesome. It peaked at #22 on the Hot 100.
• Female rap trio Salt-N-Pepa sampled "I'll Take You There" in their 1991 hit "Let's Talk About Sex."

Preceded by "Oh Girl" by The Chi-Lites	Billboard Hot 100 number one single June 3, 1972	Succeeded by "The Candy Man" by Sammy Davis, Jr.
Preceded by "Are You Lonely For Me" by The Rude Boys	Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs number one single BeBe & CeCe Winans version December 7, 1991	Succeeded by "Private Line" by Gerald Levert