Artist Name

Stairsteps

(0 users)

Logo

Artist Image


Functions
Love Edit Import


Data Complete 20%

Album CD Covers view
None found, add some?

Members
5 Mixed

Popularity
---

Followers
---

Origin
Chicago, Illinois, USA

Genre
Soul

Style
Urban/R&B

Mood
---

Active
0 to Present...

Cutout

Most Loved Tracks
No loved tracks found...

Music Video Links



Artist Biography
Available in:
The Five Stairsteps were an American soul group from Chicago, Illinois, made up of five of Betty and Clarence Burke Sr.'s six children — Alohe, Clarence Jr., James, Dennis, and Kenneth "Keni" — and, briefly, their youngest brother Cubie. Dubbed the "First Family of Soul," a nickname later passed on to the Jackson 5, the group took its name from their mother, who thought her children resembled stair steps when lined up by age. Clarence Sr., a Chicago Police Department detective, managed the group, played bass with them, and co-wrote songs with Clarence Jr. and Gregory Fowler. After winning a talent contest at the Regal Theater, the group was introduced to Curtis Mayfield by family friend Fred Cash of the Impressions and signed to Mayfield's Windy City label. Their debut single, "You Waited Too Long," reached number 16 on the Billboard R&B chart in 1966. When Windy City's distributor Cameo Parkway folded, the group moved to Buddah Records, recording the album Family Portrait — released as the Five Stairsteps & Cubie — which produced the hits "Something's Missing" and "A Million to One."

In early 1970 the group, now recording again as the Five Stairsteps, released their best-known song, "O-o-h Child," written by Stan Vincent. The single reached number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 14 R&B, sold over a million copies, and was later ranked among Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. They also appeared in the concert documentary The Isley Brothers Live at Yankee Stadium. In 1971, performing as the Stairsteps, they charted with "Didn't It Look So Easy" and "I Love You-Stop." Alohe left the group in 1972 to pursue a spiritual path, later working at Emory University. Introduced to former Beatles associates by Billy Preston, the remaining brothers signed to George Harrison's Dark Horse label, releasing Second Resurrection in 1976, which included the hit "From Us to You," written by Clarence Jr. and Keni Burke.

After the Stairsteps disbanded, Keni Burke pursued a solo career and became an in-demand session bassist, working with artists including Bill Withers, Curtis Mayfield, and Diana Ross. In 1978, Clarence Jr. reunited with Keni, James, and Dennis to form the Invisible Man's Band with producer Alex Masucci, scoring an R&B top-ten hit with "All Night Thing" in 1980 before further lineup and label changes in the early 1980s.

Several members of the family have since died: Clarence Jr. on May 26, 2013; Cubie on May 14, 2014; Dean Gant, a collaborator from the Invisible Man's Band, in April 2020; Clarence Burke Sr. in July 2020; and James Burke in February 2021.


Wide Thumb


Clearart


Fanart



Banner


User Comments

Status

Unlocked
Last Edit by akg550
28th Jul 2026

Socials


Streaming


External Links