It’s time for another streamlined and slimmed down edition of the Friday Cocktail Hour. I was surprised by how rarely I’ll Take You There has been recorded. It’s a great song that deserves to be heard. It has, however, been sampled five times.

I’ll Take You There was written in 1972 by Alvertis Isbell DBA Al Bell.

We begin with the first recording by The Staple Singers. I always want to call them Staples since that’s the family name. In any event, they had a huge hit with this song;

The great South African group Ladysmith Black Mambazo recorded I’ll Take You There  in 1997:

Finally, Zydeco Force with an idiosyncratic take on this week’s tune.

That’s it for this week. Let’s drink to the Staple Singers. Thanks for all the great music, y’all. It’s what the cartoon Rat Pack would want. Never argue with them.