Candi Staton had been singing in gospel groups for years when the future disco diva recorded a solo album of secular Southern soul at Muscle Shoals in 1969.

For about 25 years the only song I knew by Candi Staton was Young Hearts Run Free, a disco hit from my youth. I didn’t even know she was “Stayton” rather than the “Statton” I’d been saying for years.

Then I saw her at the Jazz Café in 2013 and realised I knew more of her songs, including You’ve Got The Love, which had been a huge hit a few years earlier for Florence + The Machine (and, a decade earlier for Candi herself with The Source).

A devout Christian, she has recorded gospel albums, Southern soul albums, Americana albums and, most recently, psychedelic R&B albums.

Digging deeper, I discovered soul gems like this one from back in 1969, recorded at Muscle Shoals for her debut album I’m Just A Prisoner.