History
The Chicago group was dubbed "First Family of Soul" because of their successful five-year chart run; the moniker was later passed on to the Jackson 5. Initially a teenage five-member brothers and sister vocal group made up of the offspring of Betty and Clarence Burke, the Five Stairsteps (named by Mrs. Burke who thought her kids looked like stair steps when lined up according to their age) featured lead singer Clarence Jr., Alohe, James, Dennis, and 13-year-old Kenneth ("Keni"). Most of the members attended Harlan High School. The Burkes named their last child after Cubie Coleman. He owned a bar in Chicago. Clarence Sr. was a detective for the Chicago Police Department and loving father. He backed the group on bass guitar, managed them, and co-wrote songs with Clarence Jr. and Gregory Fowler.
After winning first prize in a talent contest at the legendary Regal Theater, the Five Stairsteps were beset with recording contract offers. A close neighbor and family friend was Fred Cash of the Impressions, who introduced the group to Curtis Mayfield. Signed to Mayfield's Windy City imprint, which was distributed by Philadelphia-based Cameo Parkway Records, their first single was Gregory Fowler's written ballad You Waited Too Long b/w the upbeat Don't Waste Your Time, a Mayfield song. A double-sided hit in Chicago, the A-side, You Waited Too Long, charted number 16 R&B in spring of 1966, and the hits kept coming. Around the end of 1967, Cameo-Parkway folded and Windy C switched to Art Kass's New York-based Buddah Records through former Cameo-Parkway executive Neil Bogart, who joined the new label as co-president. The group's second album, Family Portrait (complete with a montage of Burke family photos), was recorded and produced in Chicago by Clarence Jr. With the addition of their three-year-old brother, the group became the Five Stairsteps & Cubie. "Family Portrait" yielded two hit singles, Something's Missing and a cover of Jimmy Charles and the Revelletts' hit A Million to One. The group often toured with the Impressions. Signing with Buddah Records, the group was once again known as the Five Stairsteps.
In the spring of 1970, the group released their sole certified million-seller and biggest pop hit, Ooh Child (written by Stan Vincent), which hit number 14 R&B and number eight pop. The falsetto bridge and ending ad-libs of the song are sung by the Stairsteps' cousin, Charles "Chaz" Simmons. The flip side of the single, a cover of the Beatles Lennon/McCartney's Dear Prudence, charted number 49 R&B. The following year, the group resurfaced as the Stairsteps with two charting Buddah singles: Didn't It Look So Easy and I Love You-Stop. The group appeared in the 1970 movie The Isley Brothers Live At Yankee Stadium, a documentary of a benefit concert filmed at the famous home of the New York Yankees featuring The Isley Brothers, the Brooklyn Bridge and various other Buddah Records-affiliated artists. In the early '70s, the group was known as Stairsteps. Alohe was still with the group. Cubie never really sang with the group, but would grow up to be a popular dancer with the Dance Theater of Harlem etc. Billy Preston introduced the Stairsteps to the Beatles, and the group signed with George Harrison's Dark Horse label distributed by A&M Records. Alohe left the group in 1972 to begin a spiritual journey, and later would attend college, graduate and work at Emory University. She also was a guest speaker there. An album, 'Second Resurrection', was released in February 1976, produced by Preston, Robert Margouleff, and the Stairsteps. From Us to You, written by Clarence Jr. and Keni Burke, was the group's biggest hit since Ooh Child, peaking at number ten R&B in early 1976. The follow-up single, Passado, also covered by the group Pockets, received airplay in Chicago, New York, and other markets. Keni sang, played bass, and wrote both songs on the third single, "Tell Me Why" b/w "Salaam." They made two additional albums under the moniker The Invisible Man's Band, scoring with the disco hit, All Night Thang, which reached number 9 on the charts, before disbanding. It is reported they used the new name to not offend their loyal fans who had not associated the Stairsteps with disco.
Come Back
Five Stairsteps Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Come back
Come back to me
Where have you gone now?
Off with somone new?
If you really love me
Let me be yoir friend
Just come back
To me
Come back
Come back
Come back to me
What have i done
Oooh
To make you feel this way
Oooh
If i cant stop crying
I would have to stay
Just come back
Come back
To me
Come back
Come back to me
Im sa mad about you
Mad about you
Dont know what to do without you
Oiih
You always are on my mind
I dream of you all the time
So come back
Come back
To me
Come back
Come back
To me...
The song "Come Back" by Five Stairsteps is a plea to a lost lover to return. The opening lines of the song, "Come back, come back, come back to me," establish the longing and desperation of the singer. The second line, "Where have you gone now? Off with someone new?" suggests the possibility of infidelity or a new relationship, which is causing the singer heartbreak. The subsequent lyrics, "If you really love me, let me be your friend," further emphasize the desire of the singer to reconnect and resume the relationship in some form.
The chorus of the song repeats the same plea, "Come back to me," while the verses offer further insight into the singer's feelings. The line "What have I done to make you feel this way?" indicates a level of confusion and regret on the part of the singer. The subsequent line, "If I can't stop crying, I would have to stay," suggests a level of despair that makes it difficult for the singer to move on.
The song continues with the lines "I'm so mad about you, don't know what to do without you," which conveys the depth of the singer's feelings. The following lines that state, "You always are on my mind, I dream of you all the time," suggest that the singer is still deeply in love with the lost lover.
Overall, the song "Come Back" by Five Stairsteps is a touching and heartfelt plea for a lost love to return. It effectively conveys the emotions of heartbreak, longing, confusion, despair, and ultimately, love.
Line by Line Meaning
Come back
The singer is requesting the person they love to return to them
Come back to me
The singer wants the person they love to come back to them and be together again
Where have you gone now?
The singer is asking the person they love where they have gone and why they are not with them anymore
Off with someone new?
The singer is questioning if the person they love is with someone else now
If you really love me, Let me be your friend
The singer wants the person they love to come back and if they truly love them, they can start by being friends again
What have I done, To make you feel this way?
The singer is wondering what they did that caused the person they love to feel this way and leave
If I can't stop crying, I would have to stay
The singer is expressing their sadness and saying they will not be able to move on or leave if they cannot stop crying
I'm so mad about you, Mad about you
The singer is confessing how deeply in love they are and how strongly they feel for the person they love
Don't know what to do without you
The singer is saying they do not know how to function and live without the person they love
You always are on my mind
The singer is saying that the person they love is always in their thoughts
I dream of you all the time
The singer is saying that they dream of the person they love frequently and cannot get them out of their head
So come back, Come back to me
The singer is pleading with the person they love to come back to them and be together again
Writer(s): C.n. Burke Jr., G.k. Fowler, C.n. Burke
Contributed by Eliana T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
JAMES EUGENE Barbush
This playlist of The Five stairsteps is fantastics. I loved this kind of sound in the 60s. I especially loved the flipsides. Every song was good. I'm a white boy who still loves soul music with a love theme and/or a rhythm. Thanks for pulling this together. I still have my 45s, but I like to collect them on YouTube.
Generic First Name Generic Last Name
Fascinating, I also “collect” vinyl YouTube videos. Never saw it that way.
Mikal Alexander
Another outstanding group from Chicago's South side. CLARENCE BURKE smoked the lead as USUAL!!
Professor Lukki
The Five Stairsteps encapsulated this song with their smooth, silk harmony ...
Osman Ghaffar
Incredible - the one and ONLY , THE FIVE STAIRSTEPS .
Jihad Muhammad
Nobody really didn't know just how Talented the 5 Stairsteps were, there showmanship, routines was off the Hook. I seen them do Walk on by . The Routine was something I never seen before Mix with there Vocals. The Jackson 5 had nothing on them except Diana Ross
ezabdullah
Oh those Five Stairsteps: remarkable harmony complimented with a superb instrumental arrangement. They really put it all together on this selection.
truth1disciple
Such beautiful romantic music, song by a great family group. Loved to slow dance on this song.
omar shabazz
Another awesome cut from this group who were masters of harmony.
Harvey Robinson
The songs that they sang was the youth of Our Lives