Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post showcases one sound file and two videos of the 1970 R&B inspirational song "Ooh Child" by The Five Stairsteps.
Information and comments about this song are also included in this post along with the song's lyrics.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, inspirational, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Stan Vincent, the composer of this song and thanks to The Five Stairsteps for their musical legacy. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post, and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
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SHOWCASE EXAMPLES
Example #1: The Five Stairsteps - Ooh Child (Things are Gonna Get Easier) [MP3/Download Link] + Full Lyrics
iTeddy101, Published on Dec 12, 2009
Lyrics:
Ooh-oo child
Things are gonna get easier
Ooh-oo child
Things'll get brighter
Ooh-oo child
Things are gonna get easier
Ooh-oo child
Things'll get brighter
Some day, yeah
We'll get it together and we'll get it all done
Some day
When your head is much lighter
Some day, yeah
We'll walk in the rays of a beautiful sun
Some day
When the world is much brighter
Ooh-oo child
Things are gonna be easier
Ooh-oo child
Things'll get be brighter
Ooh-oo child
Things are gonna be easier
Ooh-oo child
Things'll get be brighter
Some day, yeah
We'll get it together and we'll get it all done
Some day
When your head is much lighter
Some day, yeah
We'll walk in the rays of a beautiful sun
Some day
When the world is much brighter
Some day, yeah
We'll get it together and we'll get it all done
Some day
When your head is much lighter
Some day, yeah
We'll walk in the rays of a beautiful sun
Some day
When the world is much brighter
Ooh-oo child
Things are gonna get easier
Ooh-oo child
Things'll get brighter
Ooh-oo child
Things are gonna get easier
Ooh-oo child
Things'll get brighter
Right now, right now
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread (Numbers are assigned for referencing purposes only)
2013
1. NewJayqwe2
"Am I the only one who remembers this song from the Bernie Mac Show?"
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2. Rick Pressley
"Before games and movies and whatever else, there was The Five Stairsteps!! What an awesome song of motivation!!!"
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2014
3. Simonas B.
"2Pac & Boyz N The Hood"
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4. Ana Miller
"This song came out during the Vietnam War! The children were deathly afraid of having their Father's killed. We saw the cops beat the Boomers with the clubs. The adult world was a chaotic mess! This song touched the hearts of the children who were caught in this crossfire. It meant a lot to us that someone remembered the Children in all this."
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5. Ana Miller
"I don't know who they wrote this song for. But it became the song for the Vietnam Vets children who lost their Fathers or for those scared out of their wits they would lose their Father. It became our song! It touched our hearts and gave us hope that the chaos would end soon!! This was our song!!!"
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6. RhodainChristJesus
"Isn't it sad when a lot of people Only know this song from Guardians of the Galaxy ;(
but GOTG reminded me of it :)"
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REPLY
7. DrCrunchElements
"I agree I loves the song before watching the film but it was the film that brought me here"
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REPLY
8. sealbones, 2015
"No! I think it's awesome that a middle-of-the-road movie's made lots of people interested in something they otherwise wouldn't have known about =]"
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9. Jeffrey Lebowski
"I heard this song, like a zillion times, don't remember where I heard it first but who cares ?! It's a good song, and I don't know wether you found it through Boyz 'n' the Hood, or Guardians of the Galaxy, I'm just glad you found it. Everyone should listen to this at least once in their life, it's a classic."
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10. KirkSH52
"This is the best genre of music that ever happened on this planet in my humble opinion. People need to listen to this music and mellow the hell out. Life is too short to be mad and hateful to others. This life we live is "trivial" and very short. I say we all just say the hell with it and be nice to one another while we are here for this minute period of time."
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2015
11. Brody White
"A great song and inspiration for anyone going through hard times!!"
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12. Diquan Washingbeard
"I'm here mainly from Crooklyn and also Boys N The Hood, two of my fav movies."
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13. Seth Williams
"No, Guardians of the Galaxy did not bring me here. It's a classic, anyone who know music, knows this song Lol. People now days, I tell ya"
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REPLY
14. ChocoMucho2207
"+Seth Williams well thanks to the movie, this and many more classic songs were reintroduced to more recent generations and bet most liked it"
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REPLY
15. Fortune Industries
"I know this less from GOTG and more from Ryan Haywood trying to sing the first verse with a hoarse throat during the Monopoly episode of Achievement Hunter: Minecraft."
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REPLY
16. Vasco2024
"I don't know why so many people have a problem with others (specially young) discovering songs through movies and games... I bet when you were a kid you didn't listen to 1940's songs. You should be happy awesome songs like this are becoming popular. But I just think it's stupid that whenever someone comments "I came here trough...", some people brag they knew it first, and blah blah"
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REPLY
17. jonathan lopez DRose1
"Boyz in the hood got me here"
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18. Natasha C
"Doesn't matter what brought us all here this is a great song, Crooklyn, Boyz in the Hood or GOTG unite! lol"
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REPLY
19. Tiffany Owens
"Yas. I swear this is the best comment here."
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2016
20. William Walton
"Recently I have been through some incredibly rough times and to hear this song and listen to the lyrics makes me feel better... Thank you for posting this!"
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21. CatVader101
"One of Tupac's songs had the lyrics from this song in his, that's why I'm here"
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REPLY
22. stephen spinato
"which one?"
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REPLY
23. CatVader101
"+stephen spinato Keep Ya Head Up"
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REPLY
24. stephen spinato
"thanks!"
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REPLY
25. CatVader101
"+stephen spinato No Problem :)"
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REPLY
26. Samuel Sannoh, 2017
"CatVader101 that why im here too, keep your head up and one of my friend was listening to this song and i thought it was tupac but it wasnt so i had to look up this song"
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27. George David
"What a great song to send to your grown up kids when they are dealing with lifes curveballs"
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28. Smooooth
"This song gives me hope"
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REPLY
29. Renee Vest
"me too!! :)"
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REPLY
30. Sherrie Wesley, 2017
"Smooooth Me 3 🙃"
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REPLY
31. fernace333, 2017
"me four"
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REPLY
32. Randall Wellborn, 2017
"God me tooo"
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REPLY
33. Zoecrimson DellaRocco, 2017
"Smooooth me too :)"
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34. Will Millhouse
"This was when ice cube got caught stealing and going off to jail on boyz in the hood movie real classic"
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REPLY
35. Atiba Tolbert
"yeah dude boys in the hood is iconic"
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36. Jason Docker
"boyz in the hood brought me here this tune is the backing track to the father and son fishing scene ...."
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REPLY
37. Justin Dortch
"you should check out the movie crooklyn really good black cinema with this song aswell."
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REPLY
38. Jason Docker
"thank you for the tip"
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39. James Doris
"Hard to imagine in this world of ours today but sometimes hope is the best thing we have and I surely hope someday soon things will get easier and things will be brighter... for us and for future generations."
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2017
40. Ivy Vasconcelos
"American Crime Story brought me here. That episode when Mr. Johnnie sings this song. Also, 2pac brought me here too. Amazing music 💚"
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41. mile8650 mile8650
"this song makes me like the world more in a way and makes me a happier person when i listen or think about it"
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42. mmm SOUL
"We are poor but we are doing all we can to better ourselves. This song gives me hope that one day we will be able to prosper. We will be able to help the rest of our family. That we will be able to help our grandma with cost of surgery. I know it. We are giving it all."
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43. AmyKinso
"Go to for sadtimes💓"
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44. Peggy Soto
"Love these old songs"
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45. Spice Shabalala
"For every BLACK person throughout the world, this is our song."
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Example #2: OOH CHILD The Five Stairsteps
discolarry124, Published on Jul 13, 2011
PLEASE NOTE: We all know LIFE aint easy, there was good and bad in the 70's and ALSO today, but don't Preach A Gazillion comments about it here, It will be Pulled, This is not a Political Station. This is a Damn Great song!!! Thank you, This song makes u wanna live in its time to look forward to a brighter time. very deep song, very very deep. don't see this today! THIS IS ONE FOR THE BOOKS, THEY ALL SINGING THIS SONG SO VERY WELL, THE WORDS LISTEN TO THE WORDS, THEM WAS THE DAYS, THOSE WERE THE TIME, I'VE BEEN THERE AND FELT WHAT THEY SING!!! SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL, OOH CHILD THINGS ARE GOING BE EASIER!!!!
ANOTHER GREAT GROUP, THEY WERE DEFINITELY THE BOMB BACK WHEN, LOTS OF CLASSIC HITS AND IF U WERE AROUND ENJOYED THEM, IT WAS MUSIC FROM THE HEART. LOOK AT THEIR CLOTHES (WOW)
ANOTHER GREAT TOP SHELF SONG....BRINGS BACK NICE MEMORIES.
IS THIS BRINGING YOU BACK, LORD HEARING THESE WONDERFUL SONGS AND DO YOUR THANG ON THE DANCE FLOOR. WOW I FEEL LIKE 18 ALL OVER AGAIN, USE TO LOVE WATCHING SOUL TRAIN AND GETTING DOWN TO THE DANCES AND THE SOUL TRAIN LINE. I LAUGH AT WHAT WE WORE BACK THEN, BUT THAT WAS THE STYLE AND EVERYBODY WANTED THAT STYLE. LOVE WATCHING SOUL TRAIN ON SATURDAY ON CHANNEL 11 HERE IN NEW YORK CITY AND THEN TRY TO DANCE JUST THE WAY THEY DID AND GOT DOWN.. WOW BEAUTIFUL MEMORIES WILL LAST FOREVER IN OUR MINDS, THEY HAD A GOOD TIME AND ENJOYED PARTYING THEIR SELVES OFF, I KNOW I DID, CHECK OUT THE CLOTHES, LORD HAVE MERCY TO THINK I WORE THEM CLOTHES IN THE YESTERYEAR BACK WHEN, AND U KNOW NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT STYLE BACK WHEN. SIMPLY ENJOY IT LIKE I DID AND DO!!!! GREAT MEMORIES OF YESTERYEAR NO MATTER WHAT, ANYONE ON HERE WHO USED TO DANCE ON SOUL TRAIN, DROP ME A LINE AND LET ALL OF US KNOW WHERE YOU ARE. ENJOY!!! PLEASE READ BELOW
This video is not mine and it's rights are the sole property of its owners.
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Example #3: Five Stairsteps Ooh Child 70s TV
Danschutz, Published on Oct 13, 2014
Not sure what show this is from but it is definitely an upgrade to the others on youtube.
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread (Numbers are assigned for referencing purposes only)
2015
1. Anthony Mackey
"Just found the show from this footage; The Barbara McNair Show 1971 in case anyone wants to know."
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REPLY
2. Tom Fordi, 2016
"+Anthony Mackey (The 70's Man)
Thank you so much for the information, I do want to know. A search on IMDB says April 4, 1971. It is a Toronto, Canada TV show."
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3. Kevin Goins
"This was from the Stairsteps' 1970 appearance on THE BARBARA McNAIR SHOW, which was syndicated from 1969 to 1971. Barbara was an singer/actress signed to Motown Records for many years. She had many folks on her TV program, from the Edwin Hawkins Singers and the Stairsteps to the Rascals and the Turtles."
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4. Musa Yobabydaddy
"Aloha seems like shes struggling to sing her part, she was still my favorite StairStep."
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REPLY
6. 5.ME-Tube Your Space!, 2017
"Musa Yobabydaddy Yeah. Her voice has gotten really deep. She had a nice saprano when they first came out back in 1966."
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2016
7. Annette Rome
"A great performance!!! are they all brothers and sister??????????"
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REPLY
8. JPfromFlint
"Yes. They were known as the "'First Family of Soul.""
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REPLY
9. Aminah Shabazz
"Yes! The Burke Family. Sis is the oldest! :-)"
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10. Mario Fields
"I love the way my man fell in line right b4 she started singing! Very slick!"
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REPLY
11. Tommy Grey
"I like that too.
what religion did she convert to?
Which one is Clerance Burke who died 3 years ago?"
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REPLY
14. OldschoolMusicJunkie
"Mario Fields The group is made up of 4 brothers and 1 sister, her name is Alohe Jean.
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REPLY
15. Joe Johnson
"Tommy Grey - The talented Clarence Burk is singing lead and he is to the far right. The guy in the orange is Kenny Burk author of the song " Keep On Rising To The Top", was a big hit in '80's."
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REPLY
16. Joe Johnson
"Mario Fields - That's Clarence Burk Jr. he wrote a lot of the songs. Stevie Wonder produced a lot of their songs and I believe this was a Stevie Wonder production."
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REPLY
17. Tommy Grey
"I thought she converted to another religion and changed her name?"
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REPLY
18. Mario Fields
"she did"
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19. patty1977
"Who is the young dude singing lead, saying the "oooh Child" part?"
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REPLY
20. Al Atherley
"That's Kenni Burk. He went on to become a much in demand Bassist on several albums."
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2017
21. Nia the Gulf Gypsy
"A wonderful song preformed by truly great people! Honest, live, pure talent. And the message of this song is so needed today.
Life isn't always easy but life is a gift and it's up to each of us, to try to make the best we can, of it.
Bright blessings to all. Have faith. See the good and the beautiful around you."
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22. Craig Busick
"I would to hear their back story."
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REPLY
23. Jay J.
"They're four brothers and a sister. They got their name when their mom remarked that when they stood in line from oldest to youngest they looked like five Stairsteps"
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24. Charles Zachary
"The Burke Family could get their groove on without a doubt. One of my all time favorite songs. Incredible live rendition of a timeless classic."
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25. Phillip Burns
"Did this group came out before The Jackson 5 ???"
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REPLY
26. hendrixnut64
"yes"
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27. markeobrien
"wow...that is awesome. so cool to see a live performance instead of the usual lip sync. the vocals have such a nice rawness and warmth."
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INFORMATION ABOUT THIS SONG
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O-o-h_Child
"O-o-h Child" is a 1970 single recorded by Chicago soul family group the Five Stairsteps and released on the Buddah label. Previously, the Five Stairsteps had had peripheral success recording in Chicago with Curtis Mayfield: when Mayfield's workload precluded his continuing to work with the group they were reassigned to Stan Vincent, an in-house producer for Buddah Records, who had recently scored a Top Ten hit with the Lou Christie single "I'm Gonna Make You Mine". The Five Stairsteps' debut collaboration with Vincent was originally formatted with the group's rendition of "Dear Prudence" as the A-side with Vincent's original composition "O-o-h Child" as B-side. However, "O-o-h Child" broke out in the key markets of Philadelphia and Detroit to rise as high as #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 1970. The track's R&B chart impact was more muted with a #14 peak, although "O-o-h Child" is now regarded as a "soft soul" classic. Billboard ranked the record as the No. 21 song of 1970.
The Five Stairsteps' only pop Top 40 hit, "O-o-h Child" would be the group's last R&B top 40 hit (they had several top 40 R&B hits in the 1960s) until 1976's "From Us to You". Included on the band's The Stairsteps album from 1970, it has become the Stairsteps' signature song and has inspired more than twenty covers since its release. The song featured various members, including lone female member and eldest sister Alohe, brothers Keni, Dennis, James, lead singer Clarence Burke, Jr. singing in various parts of the song and also drummer Jerome Brailey on the original recording.
The lyrics tell the listener that "things are gonna get easier" in times of strife. The song's uplifting message helped it to become popular among pop and rhythm and blues audiences when it was released.
The song is ranked #402 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
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