Canzetta Maria Staton was born in Hanceville, Alabama on March 13, 1940. Known as the “First Lady of Southern Soul”, Candi launched her singing career at the tender age of four in her local church. As pre-teen, Staton and her sister Maggie were sent to Nashville, Tennessee for school. While attending Jewell Christian Academy, Staton’s vocal abilities were soon noticed by her fellow students and the school’s pastor. Impressed by her voice, the pastor paired Staton and her sister with a third girl, Naomi Harrison, and they formed the Jewell Gospel Trio. As teenagers, the group toured the traditional gospel circuit during the1950’s with the Soul Stirrers, C. L. Franklin and Mahalia Jackson.
Following a successful gospel career, Candi transitioned to secular music in the late 1960’s after meeting Clarence Carter. In 1968, Staton was introduced to Rick Hall by Carter and began her solo career as a Southern soul stylist. She recorded16 R&B hits for Hall’s FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Candi earned the previously mentioned title of “First Lady of Southern Soul” for her Grammy-nominated R&B renditions of “Stand by Your Man” and “In the Ghetto”. Staton appeared on the September 23, 1972, edition (Season 2, Episode 1) of Soul Train.
In 1976, Staton began collaborating with producer David Crawford on disco songs such as “Young Hearts Run Free”, which reached No. 1 on the US R&B charts, and went Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 during the summer of 1976. In 1979 from her album Chance, Staton released the single “When You Wake Up Tomorrow” and the title song “Chance”, a top 20 R&B charted record. Other dance club chart hits included “When You Wake Up Tomorrow” and “Victim”.
Staton’s disco music was extremely popular in Europe and her recordings charted frequently in the United Kingdom. In 1991, Staton performed the vocals on the Source’s “You Got the Love”. This recording was a huge success in the UK.
Staton signed with Intersound Records in 1995. In 2000, she released Here’s a Blessing. In 2004, the British record label Honest Jon’s released a compilation album of her soul work from the late 1960s and early 1970s, eponymously titled Candi Staton. Staton followed that production up with a secular project in 2006 entitled His Hands, produced by Mark Nevers of the band Lambchop. Two of Staton’s children, Cassandra Williams-Hightower (background vocals) and Marcus Williams (drums), joined her on the album. A second studio album for Honest Jon’s, titled Who’s Hurting Now?, was released in 2009. She and Rick Hall reunited to make a half dozen more tracks for Staton’s 2014 southern soul album, Life Happens. The track “I Ain’t Easy to Love”, featured Jason Isbell and John Paul White (formerly of The Civil Wars). The trio performed this song on Late Show with David Letterman
Candi’s latest album, Back to My Roots was released in 2025.
Staton received five Grammy Award nominations:
1971 Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for “Stand by Your Man”
1973 Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for “In the Ghetto”
1984 Best Soul Gospel Performance, Female for “Make Me an Instrument”
1987 Best Soul Gospel Performance, Female for “Sing A Song”
2026 Best Roots Gospel Album for Back to My Roots
The five-time Grammy nominee and Christian Music Hall of Famer has moved between soul and R&B, gospel, disco and even electronic dance music (EDM).
Canzetta Maria Staton lives in Atlanta, Georgia.
The Birmingham Record Collectors Hall of Fame Class of 2026
“The Preservation, Collection and Appreciation of Recorded Music”