Certain Songs #2453: The Staple Singers – “(If You’re Ready) Come Go With Me”

Album: Be What You Are
Year: 1973

. . .

The Staple Singers had so much success with “I’ll Take You There,” they decided let’s do it again, especially after the follow-up singles totally stiffed. And so, their next big single, “(If You’re Ready) Come Go With Me” was a virtual clone of “I’ll Take You There,” right down to the reggae-ish lilt and call-and-response chorus, led by Mavis, of course.

If you’re ready
If you’re ready now
If you’re ready, yeah
Come on go with me

No hatred (come go with me)
Will be tolerated (come go with me)
Peace and love (come go with me)
Will grow between the races (come go with me)

And while “If You’re Ready (Come Go With Me)” was 25% slicker than “I’ll Take You There” — the rhythms were mushier, the horns replaced with strings, and Mavis’ growl was all but gone — the “come go with me” was still hooky enough that it was one of those songs I always enjoyed when it came on KYNO back in the day, especially on the bridge.

No economical exploitation
And no political domination

All in all, “(If You’re Ready) Come Go With Me” was catchy enough to be the Staple Singers’ second top ten hit, peaking out at #9 on the pop charts, though like “I’ll Take You There” it topped the R&B chart. It wasn’t the final massive hit the Staple Singers had: a couple of years later, they had one last #1 with “Let’s Do It Again,” which was part of the soundtrack of the film of the same name. After that, they didn’t have any big singles, really, though eventually they were elected to the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame and nowadays, everybody agrees that Mavis Staple is a national treasure.

“(If You’re Ready) Come Go With Me”

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