photo by Eric Welles-Nystrom; photo courtesy of 23 PR

Single Review of Annie & the Caldwells: “Wrong” (Luaka Bop)

The funky opening of “Wrong” will grab you right off the bat, as “Wrong,” a single from the Annie & the Caldwells album Can’t Lose My (Soul), evolves into the kind of powerfully-vocalled (with backup singers) kind-of-Motowny soul song that’ll keep you moving in your seat with its engaging beat. And you’ll be singing along with the lyric “I was wrong” by the end of the very first listen.

The group’s bio notes that Annie & the Caldwells are a family group from West Point, Mississippi and labels their sound as “disco soul.” Yes, though I couldn’t quite place it in the review above, penned before digging into the band’s bio, there’s definitely a disco flavor to the song, too.

The song includes a nice video, filmed right there in West Point, that begins in Caldwell’s Fashions, the business owned and operated by family matriarch and bandleader Annie Caldwell. The family band is comprised of vocalist Annie, her husband Willie Caldwell Sr. (guitar), her sons Willie Caldwell Jr. (bass) and Abel Aquirius Caldwell (drums), daughters Deborah Caldwell Moore (featured vocals), and Anjessica Caldwell (backing vocals), and goddaughter Toni Rivers (backing vocals).

In any case, this is a fun single. I haven’t given the full-length album a listen yet – it’s been out a few weeks now – I fully expect to be wowed.

You can also find Annie, Willie Sr., and their sons in the Staples Jr. Singers, who’ve been around since 1975, according to the Staples Jr. Singers’ Instagram page.