Before the Jacksons stole their title, the Five Stairsteps were known as the First Family of Soul.
The five children of Chicago police detective Clarence Burke Sr. went from winning a talent contest in 1965 to a contract with Curtis Mayfield’s record company and a five-year run of nine Top 10 hits on the R&B charts. “O-o-h Child” was their only crossover hit, topping out at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1970.
This live version is rougher around the edges, but gives a good view of what their stage act looked like.
The song, written by producer Stan Vincent, has been covered dozens of times by all kinds of artists — R&B singers like Nina Simone and Mary Wilson, power-popsters the Posies and the Wondermints, and folk singers like Lisa Loeb and Jill Sobule have all tackled the tune. I think the best rendition is by English folk-electronica artist Beth Orton, who stripped it down for her 2002 “Daybreaker” LP.
