Staple Singers ~ If You're Ready (Come Go With Me) 1973 Soul Purrfection Version

Producer Al Bell took the Staples to Muscle Shoals studios in Alabama and got the cream of the Southern soul scene to play for them with Jimmy Johnson on rhythm guitar, Barry Beckett on keyboards, Dave Hood on bass and Roger Hawkins on drums. They were responsible for getting the Staples to the #1 pop and R&B charts with "I'll Take You There" and "If You're Ready (Come Go With Me)" by playing live in the studio while the Staples worked with them to get the best performances out of everyone. One of the songwriters was Raymond Jackson who was in the studio one day and asked the other two writers, Carl Hampton and Homer Banks if they wanted to join him for lunch at the 4-Way Grill not far from Stax as they had good home cooked meals. Raymond called out to them "If you're ready, come go with me." Carl replied that it sounded like a good title for a song and after eating put down a demo track of the song. A lot of time was spent on the sessions to get the source material up to snuff leading to the complex, deeply involved production. Then the track was sweetened up with guitar overdubs, horns and strings.