Step On Step

International Anthem is proud to present 'Step on Step', a double LP collection of home recordings marking the de-facto eponymous debut album by enigmatic producer, arranger, and composer Charles Stepney (1931-1976). The music that makes up Step on Step was created by Stepney alone, in the basement of his home on the Southside of Chicago, sometime in the late 1960s and early 1970s, before his untimely death in 1976.

A Chicago born and bred arranger, producer, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, Stepney is known for his work with Earth, Wind & Fire, Deniece Williams, and Ramsey Lewis, and as a staff producer for Chess Records in the 1960s, where he was an essential creative force behind seminal recordings by Rotary Connection, Minnie Riperton, Mablena Shaw, Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, Terry Callier, The Dells, The Emotions, and many more. In the decades since his passing, the presence of his name in liner notes and on vinyl labels has become a seal of quality for record collectors, music historians, and aficionados, while his sound has been used by countless samplers in the hip-hop world including Kanye West, A Tribe Called Quest, The Fugees, MF DOOM, and Madlib. But in comparison to the post-mortem renown of his sound, or the music he created and the artists he supported while he was alive, Stepney is a greatly underappreciated figure… a genius relegated to the shadows.

Tracklist

1. Roll Tape
2. Gimme Some Sugar
3. Daddy’s Diddies
4. Gotta Dig It to Dig It
5. No Credit for This
6. Roadtrip
7. On Your Face
8. That’s the Way of the World
9. Imagination
10. In the Basement
11. Business
12. Look b4u Leap
13. Around the House
14. Funky Sci Fi
15. Mini Mugg
16. Chicago Independent
17. Surround Stereo
18. Black Gold
19. Denim Groove
20. Notes From Dad
21. Rubie & Charles
22. Greatness
23. Step on Step