The Five Stairsteps -

The Five Stairsteps were an American sibling soul group from Chicago that released six albums and landed two Top 20 R&B hits, including “World of Fantasy,” “Don’t Change Your Love,” “Baby Make Me Feel So Good,” and “From Us to You.” Their 1970 ballad “O-o-h Child” became a common theme for Seventies-era coming-of-age vignettes in TV and film.

Members: Alohe Burke, Clarence Burke Jr., James Burke, Dennis Burke, Keni Burke, Cubie Burke

Background

The Five Stairsteps formed in Chicago in 1965 when lead vocalist and guitarist Clarence Burke Jr. teamed with siblings Alohe (contralto), James (first tenor), Dennis (baritone), and Kenneth “Keni” Burke (second tenor) under the management of father and bassist Clarence Burke Sr. Their mother, Betty Burke, named the group for the descending height pattern she saw when the siblings stood by age.

Clarence Sr., a Chicago police detective, taught the children music at home with Betty. Clarence Jr. (born on May 25, 1949) attended Harlan High School with the other Burke siblings. Alohe also played trumpet in her school concert orchestra. James played guitar and won three scholarships to the Art Institute of Chicago. Kenneth served as group bassist.

The group won first prize in a Regal Theater talent contest on 47th Street and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Clarence Sr. asked his neighbor, Impressions vocalist Fred Cash, to hear the children. After their audition, Cash phoned Curtis Mayfield, who signed the Five Stairsteps to Windy C, his Cameo-Parkway-distributed label.

Mayfield booked them at Universal Recording Studio in Chicago. Windy C issued the early 1966 single “Don’t Waste Your Time” (b/w “You Waited Too Long”). Stations favored “You Waited Too Long,” which reached No. 16 on Billboard R&B before the group cut the singles that led into their first album.

The Five Stairsteps

The Five Stairsteps released their self-titled debut album in February 1967 on Windy “C”.

The album presents Chicago vocal-group soul with close-set unison passages, lead-and-answer refrains, and brass punctuation, performed by the five singing Burke siblings with their bassist father under Mayfield’s production.

“You Waited Too Long” yearns through ornate lead phrasing and close group harmony. “Danger! She’s a Stranger” tilts its courtship warning through jazz-tinged chord color and poised vocal control. “World of Fantasy” lingers over a ballad lead, with the family blend held in a soft register. “Playgirl’s Love” glides through a polished line and smooth supper-club finish. “Ooh Baby Baby” pleads through a high-set lead and restrained group response. The Mayfield-produced sides place bright vocal entries inside compact arrangements and clean refrain shapes.

A1. “Danger! She’s a Stranger” (2:45) – C. Burke Jr., Fowler, Mayfield
A2. “The Girl I Love” (2:13) – C. Burke Sr., C. Burke Jr., Fowler
A3. “Come Back” (2:52) – C. Burke Jr., Fowler
A4. “The Touch of You” (2:35)
A5. “You Waited Too Long” (2:49) – C. Burke Jr., Fowler
A6. “Playgirl’s Love” (2:10) – C. Burke Jr., Fowler

B1. “World of Fantasy” (3:01) – C. Burke Jr., Fowler
B2. “Oooh, Baby, Baby” (2:30) – Robinson, Moore
B3. “Don’t Waste Your Time” (2:25) – Mayfield
B4. “You Don’t Love Me” (2:25) – C. Burke Jr., Fowler
B5. “Behind Curtains” (2:49) – Mayfield

“World of Fantasy” appeared in July 1966 as their second single (b/w “Playgirl’s Love”) and reached No. 12 on the Billboard R&B singles chart and No. 49 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Come Back” followed in October 1966 (b/w “You Don’t Love Me”) and reached No. 15 on the Billboard R&B singles chart and No. 61 on the Billboard Hot 100. In December 1966, “Danger! She’s A Stranger” became the fourth single (b/w “Behind Curtains”) and reached No. 16 on the Billboard R&B singles chart and No. 89 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The Five Stairsteps reached No. 139 on the Billboard 200 and No. 8 on the Billboard R&B Albums chart.

Love’s Happening

5 Stairsteps & Cubie released Love’s Happening in 1968 on Curtom.

The album sets compact vocal arrangements against short rhythm figures, horn cues, and string parts. Curtis Mayfield wrote everything apart from one track each by Carl Smith (“Your Love Has Changed”) and Leonard Brown (“New Dance Craze”).

“Stay Close to Me” glides through a Mayfield ballad shape, with the lead voice held inside close family harmony. “Don’t Change Your Love” snaps over a hard breakbeat and gives the refrain a raw-edged rhythmic base. “I’m the One Who Loves You” pleads through a compact romantic line and a soft group setting. “Baby, Make Me Feel So Good” rides a firmer beat under high-set vocal entries. “New Dance Craze” warbles through Cubie’s child-voice lead before the older voices pull the chorus back into group order. The album’s Mayfield material links delicate numbers to left-field production touches and close-woven vocal movement.

A1. “Stay Close to Me” (2:02) – Mayfield
A2. “Don’t Change Your Love” (2:17) – Mayfield
A3. “Love’s Happening” (2:51) – Mayfield
A4. “Little Young Lover” (2:19) – Mayfield
A5. “I’m the One Who Loves You” (2:22) – Mayfield

B1. “Little Boy Blue” (2:27) – Mayfield
B2. “Your Love Has Changed” (2:17) – Smith
B3. “I Made a Mistake” (2:44) – Mayfield
B4. “Baby, Make Me Feel So Good” (2:45) – Mayfield
B5. “New Dance Craze” (3:00) – Brown

Curtom issued “Don’t Change Your Love” in August 1968 (b/w “New Dance Craze”), and the single reached No. 59 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 15 on the Billboard R&B singles chart.

“Stay Close To Me” followed in October 1968 (b/w “I Made a Mistake”) and reached No. 91 on the Billboard Hot 100. In January 1969, “Baby, Make Me Feel So Good” reappeared as a single (b/w “Little Young Lover”) and reached No. 12 on the Billboard R&B singles chart.

Love’s Happening reached No. 198 on the Billboard 200 and No. 22 on the Billboard R&B Albums chart.

Our Family Portrait

The 5 Stairsteps & Cubie released their second album, Our Family Portrait, in January 1968 on Buddah.

The album pairs Burke-family originals with outside songs by Phil Medley, Burt Bacharach and Hal David, Terry Knight, and Johnny Mercer and Victor Schertzinger. The group performs the album as a family vocal unit with Cubie Burke added to the lineup.

“A Million to One” sways through a mellow ballad lead and soft group replies. “You Make Me So Mad” pleads through a pain-text lyric, with the lead voice fixed near the refrain. “Something’s Missing” surges through a larger vocal plea and controlled arrangement weight. “Bad News” pivots through sectional changes and compact vocal pressure. “New Dance Craze” breaks into Cubie’s child lead before the older voices steady the chorus. “I Remember You” settles into a nostalgic close with restrained vocal polish.

A1. “A Million to One” (2:45) – Medley
A2. “You Make Me So Mad” (2:07) – C. Burke Jr., C. Burke Sr., Allan
A3. “Something’s Missing” (2:45) – C. Burke Jr., C. Burke Sr.
A4. “The Look of Love” (3:01) – Bacharach, David
A5. “New Dance Craze” (3:00) – Brown
A6. “Windows of the World” (3:15) – Bacharach, David

B1. “Bad News” (3:05) – C. Burke Jr., C. Burke Sr.
B2. “Tell Me Who” (2:55) – C. Burke Jr., C. Burke Sr.
B3. “Under the Spell” (2:10) – C. Burke Jr., C. Burke Sr.
B4. “Find Me” (2:35) – Knight
B5. “I Remember You” (3:00) – Mercer, Schertzinger

Clarence Burke Jr. and Clarence Burke Sr. produced the album in Chicago. The sleeve presents a montage of Burke family photos.

Buddah issued “Something’s Missing” in November 1967 (b/w “Tell Me Who”), and the single reached No. 17 on the Billboard R&B singles chart and No. 88 on the Billboard Hot 100. “A Million To One” followed in January 1968 with “You Make Me So Mad” and “Tell Me Who” on separate Buddah pressings; the single reached No. 28 on the Billboard R&B singles chart and No. 68 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Our Family Portrait reached No. 195 on the Billboard 200 and No. 20 on the Billboard R&B Albums chart.

Stairsteps

The Five Stairsteps released their fourth album, Stairsteps, in 1970 on Buddah.

The album contains two Lennon and McCartney songs and seven original numbers. Clarence Burke Jr. wrote or co-wrote six of the originals, and Stan Vincent wrote “O-o-h Child.”

“Dear Prudence” jabs syllables through a sharper vocal line and firmer beat. “O-o-h Child” crests from its opening chorus into layered key changes, with Alohe Burke setting the first lead inside the family blend. “Sweet as a Peach” sways through light courtship phrasing and playful title repetition. “Vice the Lights” pivots from a dance-number front section into a mellow middle passage. “Who Do You Belong To” closes on comic possessive logic and clean group replies. The Stan Vincent sides place bright refrains inside compact arrangements and close-woven vocal entries.

A1. “Getting Better” (2:30) – Lennon, McCartney
A2. “Dear Prudence” (3:32) – Lennon, McCartney
A3. “Sweet As a Peach” (2:27) – C. Burke Jr.
A4. “Vice The Lights” (3:00) – C. Burke Jr.
A5. “O-o-h Child” (3:17) – Vincent

B1. “Because I Love You” (4:32) – C. Burke Jr.
B2. “What About Your Wife” (3:16) – C. Burke Jr., C. Burke Sr.
B3. “Up & Down” (2:52) – C. Burke Jr., J. Burke III
B4. “Who Do You Belong To” (2:32) – C. Burke Jr.

Stan Vincent produced Stairsteps. Bob Cato photographed and designed the sleeve.

Buddah issued “Dear Prudence” in February 1970 (b/w “O-o-h Child”), and the single reached No. 66 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 49 on the Billboard R&B singles chart. In May 1970, “O-o-h Child” appeared as a single (b/w “Who Do You Belong To”) and reached No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 14 on the Billboard R&B singles chart.

“Because I Love You” followed in September 1970 (b/w “America / Standing”) and reached No. 83 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Stairsteps reached No. 83 on the Billboard 200 and No. 12 on the Billboard R&B Albums chart.

“O-o-h Child” inspired thirteen covers through 1980, including versions by The Spinner, John Blair, New Birth, Dee Dee Sharp, Valerie Carter, and Lenny Williams. During the 1990s, the song gained newfound popularity as a sentimental anthem tied to the post-hippie era. Hollywood used the song as cinematic shorthand for coming-of-age vignettes, as heard in Spike Lee’s 1994 drama Crooklyn, a semi-autobiographical comedy-drama set in 1970s Brooklyn. The song’s message of triumph over adversity—“Things are gonna get easier”—matched the melancholic nostalgia that ’90s audiences felt for the ’70s.

Stairsteps (1971)

The Stairsteps released their fifth album, Stairsteps, in August 1971 on Buddah.

The album contains ten tracks by in-house and outside sources, including the George Harrison cover “My Sweet Lord” and the Sly & The Family Stone b-side “Everybody Is a Star.” Stan Vincent wrote three of the remaining titles.

A1. “My Sweet Lord” (3:41) – Harrison
A2. “Hush Child” (3:45) – Camillo
A3. “Everybody Is a Star” (2:51) – Sylvester Stewart
A4. “Peace Is Gonna Come” (2:51) – Vincent
A5. “I Love You – Stop” (2:38) – Flax, Lambert

B1. “Snow” (3:14) – Vincent, Leverett
B2. “Didn’t It Look So Easy” (2:45) – Martancik, Goodman, Sofia
B3. “Easy Way” (2:35) – Vincent
B4. “Look Out” (2:36) – Vincent, Davilio
B5. “I Feel a Song (In My Heart Again)” (3:31) – Camillo, Sawyer

Stan Vincent produced tracks A1, A3, A4, and B1–B4 on the album. Tony Camillo produced tracks A2, A5, and B5 on the album. Irv Diehl mastered the LP at Bell Sound Studios.

Buddah issued “Didn’t It Look So Easy” in January 1971 (b/w “Peace Is Gonna Come”), and the single reached No. 81 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 32 on the Billboard R&B singles chart.

The label followed with “Snow” in March 1971 (b/w “Look Out”). “I Love You – Stop” became a December 1971 single (b/w “I Feel A Song (In My Heart Again)”) and reached No. 40 on the Billboard R&B singles chart. In March 1972, “Hush Child” became the next single (b/w “Easy Way”).

2nd Resurrection

Stairsteps released 2nd Resurrection on February 6, 1976, on Dark Horse.

The album contains ten Burke-family compositions, with Syreeta Wright credited for lyrics on “Time.” Stairsteps recorded the album with keyboardist Billy Preston, drummer Alvin Taylor, percussionist Ricardo Marrero, guitarist Steve Beckmeier, and backing vocalist Ivory Davis. The four-member Burke lineup consists of vocalist-guitarist Clarence Burke Jr., guitarist Dennis Burke, guitarist James Burke, and bassist Kenneth Burke.

“From Us to You” strides through an upper-midtempo refrain with synth-driven surface and group vocal lift. “Pasado” glides through a Latin-tinged line and polished vocal blend. “Time” settles into close-woven harmony over a medium pace. “Throwin’ Stones Atcha” edges forward with a tauter uptempo feel and clipped title pressure. “Tell Me Why” slows the set into a midtempo ballad register. “In the Beginning” builds its ballad shape through gradual arrangement weight. “Theme of Angels,” “Far East,” and “Salaam” shift the album toward instrumental space and devotional tone.

A1. “From Us to You” (3:39) – C. Burke Jr., K. Burke
A2. “Pasado” (3:09) – C. Burke Jr., J. Burke
A3. “Theme of Angels” (3:19) – J. Burke
A4. “Lifting 2nd Resurrection” (3:45) – C. Burke Jr., D. Burke
A5. “Time” (3:48) – C. Burke Jr., Wright

B1. “Throwin’ Stones Atcha” (3:04) – C. Burke Jr.
B2. “Far East” (1:06) – C. Burke Jr.
B3. “In the Beginning” (2:53) – C. Burke Jr.
B4. “Tell Me Why” (4:31) – K. Burke
B5. “Salaam” (4:34) – K. Burke

Stairsteps produced 2nd Resurrection with Billy Preston and Robert Margouleff at Kendun Recorders. Margouleff engineered the album with assistant engineer Geoff Gillette. Malcolm Cecil and Margouleff programmed T.O.N.T.O.; Preston played the synthesizer system on the album.

Roland Young oversaw art direction for the package. Chuck Beeson designed the sleeve with photography by Fred Valentine.

Dark Horse lifted “From Us to You” as a December 1975 single (b/w “Time”), and the single reached No. 10 on the Billboard R&B singles chart. Dark Horse followed with “Tell Me Why” as a June 1976 single (b/w “Salaam”).

In the UK, “Pasado” appeared as a May 1976 single (b/w “Throwin’ Stones Atcha”).

Later Career and Name Change

After 2nd Resurrection, the Stairsteps split into separate Burke-family projects. Bassist-vocalist Keni Burke remained with Dark Horse and cut the 1977 solo album Keni Burke, a self-produced set with “Keep on Singing” and “From Me to You.” Clarence Burke Jr. then built a new recording act around four former Stairsteps: Clarence Jr., James Burke, Dennis Burke, and Keni Burke. Producer Alex Masucci joined the project in New York, with keyboardist Dean Gant and drummer Steve Ferrone in the recording lineup.

The act took the name The Invisible Man’s Band for the 1980 Mango/Island album The Invisible Man’s Band. Masucci and Clarence Jr. produced the album, which returned the Burke brothers to the R&B Top 10 with “All Night Thing.” The single reached No. 9 R&B and No. 45 on the Hot 100. Clarence Jr. and Masucci then moved the act through Seduction Productions and a Boardwalk deal for the 1981 album Really Wanna See You. Move ’N Groove issued the final Invisible Man’s Band single, “Sunday Afternoon,” in 1983.

Discography: