"When Will We Be Paid"

Staple Singers - "When will we be paid" Amazing track (later recorded by Prince) from Soul to Soul concert and film in Ghana 1971. Mavis Staples is still the shit! (go to "Bugnoise America" on this page for a taste of her from last year doing Curtis Mayfield's "Keep On Pushin" Available on the classic LP "I Believe To My Soul" Also titled "Meeting On Mission Street" produced by Joe Henry of Jim White fame) Side note; The production on this LP is some of the best sound work I've heard lately, capturing traditional instruments with a nod to the past yet in no way retro! In 1971 a concert was arranged in Accra, dubbed 'Soul to Soul'. It featured an array of American soul and jazz stars including Wilson Pickett, The Staple Singers, Roberta Flack, Ike and Tina Turner and Les Mc Cann. There were also a number of local bands on the bill but, unbelievably, they were completely omitted from the double album of the concert released by Atlantic in America. Also on the bill were the latin-rock band Santana, who perhaps did more than anyone that day to point young Ghanaian musicians in the direction of establishing their own brand of Afro-rock. Fela Kuti had long been a favourite of the Ghanaian audiences, visiting from nearby Nigeria on a regular basis. Fela was a huge crowd drawer, both in the early days of his first Highlife-jazz band, The Koola Lobitos, and later with the legendary Africa 70 band. Since 1969 there had also been the international success of Osibisa, a half Ghanaian, half West Indian band formed by Tedddy Osei, showing that Afro-fusion groups could make it on the international stage. After 1971 a whole new batch of records started to appear in Ghana, influenced by the sounds of Osibisa, Fela Kuti and Santana. Bands like Sawaaba Soundz, The Psychedelic Aliens, The Big Beats, and Boombaya all had their own sounds that consisted of many different influences. All these bands cut 45-rpm singles with either Manufacturers Ghana. Whereas producers had previously been scared of taking financial risks on this music, now with the international success of Osibisa and Santana, producers were dreaming of the lucrative deals that might come their way from abroad. Sadly, none of these bands did receive any such deal and their music was never released outside of Ghana. The exception to this was Hedzolleh Soundz who, after a couple of 45's on the Bibini label (owned by the legendary producer Faisal Helwani), got together with Hugh Masekela and made a string of records that were released in America. More via Ducktape reviews: