I'll Take You There: Behind the scenes of the hit recording by The Staple Singers

Oh, mmm, I know a place

Ain't nobody cryin'

Ain't nobody worried

Ain't no smilin' faces, mmm, no no

Lyin' to the races

Help me, come on, come on

Somebody, help me now (I'll take you there)

Help me, ya'all (I'll take you there)

Help me now (I'll take you there)

Oh! (I'll take you there)

Oh! Oh! Mercy! (I'll take you there)

Oh, let me take you there (I'll take you there)

Oh-oh! Let me take you there! (I'll take you there)

I'll Take You There" is a song written by Al Bell under his real name Alvertis Isbell, and originally performed by soul/gospel family group The Staple Singers. The song was released in February 1972 on Stax Records and became an instant hit. It spent a total of 15 weeks on the charts and reached number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 and the R&B charts. This recording is ranked as the 19th biggest American hit of the entire year of 1972.

The Staple Singers consisted of Roebuck "Pops" Staples (December 28, 1914 – December 19, 2000), the family patriarch who formed the group with his children Cleotha (April 11, 1934 – February 21, 2013), Pervis (November 18, 1935 – May 6, 2021) and Mavis who was born in. 1939. Yvonne (October 23, 1937 – April 10, 2018), replaced Pervis twice. Once after her brother was drafted into the U.S. Army, and again in 1970. The group dropped the S from their last name and is known professionally as Staple. The family also had hits during the 1970s with "Respect Yourself", "If You're Ready (Come Go with Me)", and "Let's Do It Again".

Play your, play your piano now

All right, ah, do it, do it, come on now

Play on it, play on it, make d

addy now

Daddy, daddy, daddy, play your

Ooh, Lord, all right now

Baby, little lady, easy now

Now, come on, little lady, all right

Sock it, sock it, ah, oh, oh

I know a place, y'all (I'll take you there)

Ain't nobody cryin' (I'll take you there)

Ain't nobody worried (I'll take you there)

No smilin' faces (I'll take you there)

Uh, uh (Lyin' to the races) (I'll take you there)

Oh, no Oh! (I'll take you there)

Oh, oh, oh! (I'll take you there)

Mercy now! (I'll take you there)

I'm callin', callin', callin' for mercy (I'll take you there)

Mercy, mercy! (I'll take you there)

You oughta, you gotta gotta, let me, let me (I'll take you there)

Take you, take you, take you over there (I'll take you there

lay your, play your piano now

All right, ah, do it, do it, come on now

Play on it, play on it, make daddy now

Daddy, daddy, daddy, play your

Ooh, Lord, all right now

Baby, little lady, easy now

Now, come on, little lady, all right

Sock it, sock it, ah, oh, oh

I know a place, y'all (I'll take you there)

Ain't nobody cryin' (I'll take you there)

Ain't nobody worried (I'll take you there)

No smilin' faces (I'll take you there)

Uh, uh (Lyin' to the races) (I'll take you there)

Oh, no Oh! (I'll take you there)

Oh, oh, oh! (I'll take you there)

Mercy now! (I'll take you there)

I'm callin', callin', callin' for mercy (I'll take you there)

Mercy, mercy! (I'll take you there)

You oughta, you gotta gotta, let me, let me (I'll take you there)

Take you, take you, take you over there I'll take you there

I'll Take You There" was on the Staple Singers 1972 album Be Altitude: Respect Yourself, and features Mavis Staples as lead singer.. The introduction and bassline of the song were not original and were "lifted -- uncredited" -- from the 1969 reggae hit "The Liquidator", which was written by Harry Johnson and performed by the Harry J Allstars.

Portions of the song seemingly have Mavis' sisters Yvonne and Cleotha and their father "Pops" performing solos on their respective instruments but it is all an illusion. All the music, including the solos, were recorded by the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. When Mavis Staples says "Daddy, now, Daddy, Daddy" it's not Pops but Eddie Hinton who performs the solo.

The Baseline of "I'll Take You There" is performed by Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section bass player David Hood. A harmonica and lead electric guitar were added by Terry Manning. Barry Beckett was on Wurlitzer electronic piano, and Jimmy Johnson and Raymond Banks contributed guitar parts.

The horn and string parts were arranged by Detroit arranger Johnny Allen and recorded at Artie Fields Recording Studios in Detroit Michigan and Roger Hawkins played drums. Some people have interpreted this song as describing heaven while others say it is about an imagined world where there is no racism. This is because of the line "No more smilin' faces/lyin' to the races.

The Staple Singers version of I'll Take You was the first and the most popular but the song became popular again when BeBe & CeCe Winans recorded a version in 1991 that also went to number 1 on the R&B charts. In 1994, the British band General Public released a cover of "I'll Take You There" which made it to no. 22 on the Hot 100. Salt-N-Pepa sampled "I'll Take You There" in their 1991 hit single "Let's Talk About Sex". Nobody, however, does it like Pops Staples and his family.