I'll Take You There

For the novel by Joyce Carol Oates, see I'll Take You There (novel).
"I'll Take You There"
Belgian single release
Single by the Staple Singers
from the album Be Altitude: Respect Yourself
B-side"I'm Just Another Soldier"
ReleasedFebruary 1972
Genre
Length4:43
3:16 (7" version)
LabelStax
Songwriter(s)Al Bell
Producer(s)Al Bell
The Staple Singers singles chronology
"Respect Yourself"
(1971) 		"I'll Take You There"
(1972) 		"This World"
(1972)
Alternative release
Side A of US single release
Side A of US single release

"I'll Take You There" is a song written by Al Bell (using his real name Alvertis Isbell), and originally performed by soul/gospel family band the Staple Singers. The Staple Singers version, produced by Bell, was released on Stax Records in February 1972, and spent a total of 15 weeks on the charts and reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. By December 1972, it had sold 2 million units[5] and is ranked as the 19th biggest American hit of 1972.[6] It remains one of the best-selling gospel songs of all time.

The song was also a significant chart hit in two later cover versions. A 1991 cover version by BeBe & CeCe Winans, with Mavis Staples featured as a guest artist, made it to #1 on the R&B chart, and also reached #90 on the Hot 100.[7] In 1994, the British band General Public released a cover of "I'll Take You There" which peaked at #22 on the Hot 100.[8] Rap trio Salt-N-Pepa sampled "I'll Take You There" in their 1991 hit "Let's Talk About Sex". In 1997, the song was used by automobile manufacturer Chevrolet in its commercials for the revival of their Chevy Malibu.

  1. ^ "100 Greatest Funk Songs". Digital Dream Door. August 7, 2008. Archived from the original on September 25, 2010. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Bradley, Larry (November 4, 2014). "The 1970s: The Staple Singers - "I'll Take You There". The Alternative Jukebox. Cassell. p. 55. ISBN 978-1-84403-789-6.
  3. ^ Breihan, Tom (February 27, 2019). "The Number Ones: The Staple Singers' "I'll Take You There"". Stereogum. Retrieved June 17, 2023. But it's still hard to hear it as anything other than a gospel song — one of the purest and most direct that ever went to #1 in America.
  4. ^ Horton, Matthew (2015). "The Staple Singers - "I'll Take You There". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die. New York: Universe. p. 299.
  5. ^ "Staple Singers Get Disc For 2 Million Record Sales". Jet. Vol. 43, no. 12. Johnson Publishing Company. 14 December 1972. p. 50. ISSN 0021-5996. Retrieved January 25, 2024 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ Climax - Chart History - The Hot 100, Billboard.com. Accessed April 16, 2018.
  7. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 631.
  8. ^ "Billboard Top 100 - 1994". Archived from the original on 2009-03-01. Retrieved 2010-08-27.