"I'll Take You There" is a number-one single written (music
and lyrics) by Alvertis Isbell, produced by Al Bell and
performed by soul/gospel family band The Staple Singers,
released on Stax Records in February of 1972 (see 1972 in
music). The song spent a total of fifteen weeks on the charts
and reached number one on the Hot 100.
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. The song is "almost completely a call-and-response
chorus"[1], with the introduction being lifted from a Jamaican
instrumental reggae tune titled "The Liquidator". A large
portion of the song is set aside for Mavis' sisters Cleotha and
Yvonne and their father "Pops" to seemingly perform solos on
their respective instruments. In actuality, these solos (and
all music in the song) were recorded by the famed Muscle Shoals
Rhythm Section. When Mavis Staples says "Daddy, now, Daddy,
Daddy" (referring to "Pop's" guitar solo), it is actually Eddie
Hinton who performs the solo on record. Muscle Shoals Rhythm
Section bass player David Hood performs the song's famed bass
line. Terry Manning added harmonica and lead electric guitar.
Roger Hawkins played drums, Barry Beckett was on electric
piano, and Jimmy Johnson and Raymond banks contributed guitar
parts. The Memphis Horns played the signature soul horn
lines.
Rolling Stoneeditor David Fricke described this song as
the "epitome of the Muscle Shoals Sound". It was recorded in
Muscle Shoals, AL at the famous Muscle Shoals Sound Studios,
and overdubbed and mixed at Ardent Studios in Memphis by
Engineer Terry Manning.
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 song,
ranked #276 on the
Rolling Stonelist of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time
and inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999, remains the
most successful and recognizable single of the Staples'
half-century-long career.
The song was used from 1997-1999 in commercials for the
Chevrolet Malibu.