"After 40 years of singing in a band with my family, we released our first album this year – and Elton John is a fan!"

“It’s like living in a fantasy, getting to sing with my family and create joy for so many people,” Annie Caldwell, the 67-year-old lead singer of Annie and the Caldwells, tells us.

“Life’s not always been easy, losing both my brothers and sister along the way, but I thank God every day that He gave me and my family this opportunity. We’ve made it through the storms, the rain, heartache and pain and now we’re really living out our dreams.”

Annie’s father sang in a band, so she was brought up surrounded by music. As she and her four brothers hit their teens, they formed their own band called The Staple Junior Singers, making one record in 1975.

After marrying her husband Willie at 16, and quickly welcoming two sons and three daughters, Annie soon realised that her own family had musical potential.

“We just started off singing at home with my husband and daughter, Anora, in the background, and my son Junior playing the drums and then my niece Renee joined in singing harmonies too.

“It was sounding so good that we started performing at halls, birthday parties and churches around us in Clay County and that's how Annie and the Caldwells came to be, with three girls singing harmony.

"As Renee got older, she became a nurse but then my younger son Abel joined on drums, Junior moved to bass guitar, and my other girls Deborah and Anjessica joined the band. We’ve sung like that ever since, learning what works along the way.

“It’s always brought such joy to us and people around here in Mississippi but it’s amazing to now have fans everywhere from Sweden to South Korea.”

Hitting the world stage

This exciting new chapter for Annie and her family started in 2022. Record producer David Byrne (ex Talking Heads) rediscovered and re-released some of Annie and her brothers’ long-forgotten early Staple Junior tracks. David then got in touch, suggesting Annie and the Caldwells make an album through his label Luaka Bop.

The family recorded their album, Can’t Lose My (Soul) all live in their local church and the uplifting tunes, based on personal experience, have been likened to the slinky grooves of Gloria Gaynor and the funk of James Brown.

“It can get emotional as we sing about what we’ve been through, but the energy when we perform together is powerful and we all build off what each other’s doing. It’s just been such a privilege and a blessing to have been given this opportunity,” she says.

“I’d never been on a plane before until last year and now we’ve played in festivals in Australia, Spain, Holland and the UK. Every performance ends up being my favourite as I love seeing the crowds dancing and getting such energy from our music. I always want to go immediately back to the stage and do it all over again.”

When she’s not performing, Annie still runs Caldwell’s Fashions, a dress shop in West Point, Mississippi, so she and her daughters had a lot of fun designing the outfits for the tour with matching multi-colored harlequin print dresses that set the tone for their energetic performances.

Luckily, Annie’s granddaughter, Hikemia, was on hand to run the shop while the band was touring in Europe.

“I still fuss over all my family, even though most of them are all grown up now, but we love being together on tour,” she explains. “I have nine grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren, so there wasn’t room for them to join us, but I loved FaceTiming them from all over, telling them about our adventures.

"They just wanted to know when we were all coming home!”

Star fans and rave reviews

The album has been an out-and-out success, receiving great reviews in The Times, The Observer, The Guardian, The Boston Globe and MOJO Magazine, not to mention from some famous faces in the music industry, including Candi Staton and Sir Elton John.

“It was incredible when Elton said he thought our album was a great record and told people to go out and buy it,” Annie recalls. “It goes to show you never know who’s hearing your music until they come out and say it.

“We also get messages from so many people through Instagram and Facebook who are fans and say they find our lyrics and music relatable and inspiring. All that positive feedback gives me huge energy to go on and make more music.”

With such success already under their belts, the next 12 months are going to be equally action-packed for The Caldwell family with the release of their new album and more performances around the world.

“I used to get nervous performing, but that feeling left a long time ago. Now there's simply joy from getting out on stage together as a family. We get along so well and there’s a lot of laughter,” Annie says.

Thankful for every moment

“We’re off to Japan, Brazil and Europe again soon, which has me so excited. It’s an absolute whirlwind but I feel so blessed that we’ve been given this chance and we’re making the most of every moment.

“Ever since I was young, I felt that God let me know that this was going to happen one day. I'm just thankful that He remembered me after all these years.”