Luaka Bop Records
Annie and the Caldwells – Can't Lose My (Soul) – New LP
Regular price
$ 26.00
Please meet Annie & the Caldwells, a family from West Point, Mississippi.
Ms. Annie Caldwell — a proud mother of five and the owner of Caldwell's Fashions, on Main Street in West Point MS — sings lead and her husband Joe plays guitar. Their daughters Deborah and Anjessica sing backup, and sons Abel and Willie Jr. play the drums and bass. Together they play almost every Sunday at churches in Mississippi.
Gospel music has the ability to not only move you spiritually but move you emotionally as well. Annie & the Caldwells inspires your body with their vibrant music that is at home as much in a church of God as in the church of a dance club.
“Best soul band on the planet? Best band on the planet? I need to tell the world about them. Specifically some editor ... but after that the world … (Also is the lead backing vocalist single, I may be in love).”
– David Hutcheon, MOJO
ANNIE & THE CALDWELLS are a family that plays a powerful disco soul from West Point, Mississippi, led by Annie Caldwell (who sings) and her husband of the last fifty years Willie Joe Caldwell, Sr. (who plays guitar).
Annie Caldwells says, “My family is my band”: she is backed by their daughters Deborah Caldwell Moore and Anjessica Caldwell and goddaughter Toni Rivers; their eldest son Willie Jr. Caldwell is on the bass and youngest son Abel Aquirius Caldwell is on the drums.
They generally play on weekends, so for their day jobs Willie Jr. drives a forklift, Abel Aquirius drives hospital patients, Anjessica works in customer care for an insurance company, Toni is an elementary school teacher, and Deborah does hair. Annie runs a clothing store on Main Street called Caldwell Fashions, which has been a beloved staple for women dressing for COGIC (Church Of God In Christ) convocations and anniversaries since the 1980s. Caldwell Fashions is still open five days a week, and by appointment (we suggest you stop in).
CAN'T LOSE MY (SOUL) is twenty years in the making. They recorded it in West Point down the street from Annie and Joe’s house—at a church where Joe plays guitar every other Sunday, and where his father used to be a deacon. It was produced by Ahmed Gallab, the artist Sinkane, who together with the engineer Albert DiFiore drove a mobile rig down from Nashville and turned the back room of the church into a control room.
“Hearing Annie’s voice for the first time was like witnessing something rare,” Gallab said of the recording session, “Like you’re in the presence of a force of nature that’s been here long before you. It’s visceral, almost like it’s coming from her soul. You can feel every part of her life, every little piece of her journey, in each note she hits. It’s pure talent: no effort, no pretense, just real and raw.”
“And working with Deborah was like tapping into pure fire,” he said. “She's feisty, no doubt! That spark, that intensity she brings, spills right into her music. The tough love that these girls gave each other. Calling each other out when one wasn’t in key. It was pretty funny.”
– David Hutcheon, MOJO
ANNIE & THE CALDWELLS are a family that plays a powerful disco soul from West Point, Mississippi, led by Annie Caldwell (who sings) and her husband of the last fifty years Willie Joe Caldwell, Sr. (who plays guitar).
Annie Caldwells says, “My family is my band”: she is backed by their daughters Deborah Caldwell Moore and Anjessica Caldwell and goddaughter Toni Rivers; their eldest son Willie Jr. Caldwell is on the bass and youngest son Abel Aquirius Caldwell is on the drums.
They generally play on weekends, so for their day jobs Willie Jr. drives a forklift, Abel Aquirius drives hospital patients, Anjessica works in customer care for an insurance company, Toni is an elementary school teacher, and Deborah does hair. Annie runs a clothing store on Main Street called Caldwell Fashions, which has been a beloved staple for women dressing for COGIC (Church Of God In Christ) convocations and anniversaries since the 1980s. Caldwell Fashions is still open five days a week, and by appointment (we suggest you stop in).
CAN'T LOSE MY (SOUL) is twenty years in the making. They recorded it in West Point down the street from Annie and Joe’s house—at a church where Joe plays guitar every other Sunday, and where his father used to be a deacon. It was produced by Ahmed Gallab, the artist Sinkane, who together with the engineer Albert DiFiore drove a mobile rig down from Nashville and turned the back room of the church into a control room.
“Hearing Annie’s voice for the first time was like witnessing something rare,” Gallab said of the recording session, “Like you’re in the presence of a force of nature that’s been here long before you. It’s visceral, almost like it’s coming from her soul. You can feel every part of her life, every little piece of her journey, in each note she hits. It’s pure talent: no effort, no pretense, just real and raw.”
“And working with Deborah was like tapping into pure fire,” he said. “She's feisty, no doubt! That spark, that intensity she brings, spills right into her music. The tough love that these girls gave each other. Calling each other out when one wasn’t in key. It was pretty funny.”
credits
releases March 21, 2025
Annie Brown Caldwell – vocals
Deborah Caldwell Moore – featured vocals
Anjessica Caldwell – backing vocals
Toni Rivers – backing vocals
Hikemia Moore – backing vocals on “Wrong”
Willie Caldwell, Sr. – guitar
Willie Caldwell, Jr. – bass
Abel Aquirius Caldwell – drums
Parker James - Congas
Gerald Jenkins - Hammond B3
This record was lovingly recorded as a family at The Message Center in West Point, Mississippi, October 2023.
Produced by Ahmed Abdullahi Gallab
Engineered by Albert Di Fiore
Mastered and lacquer cut by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman
Executive Produced by Yale Evelev and Eric Welles-Nyström
Liner Notes by Danielle Amir Jackson
Eliza Grace Martin was right here (the whole time)
Designed by Chris Hopkins of Lost Art
Props to Adam Wissing and Jacques Lang, who spent every day of our recording session with cameras on their shoulders, and to Kevin Tran, Savannah Weymouth, and Paul Tyree-Francis for wading through hours and hours of footage to make beautiful videos.
Cover photo by Jomo Fray from the film All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt by Raven Jackson, courtesy of A24 Films LLC.
Thanks to everyone in the Caldwell family for trusting us with this record. Thanks especially to Hikemia Moore, Deborah’s daughter, for contributing backing vocals for her mom and for making us laugh; thanks to Hikemia’s own daughters Ariel and Asia for being a joy; thanks to Deborah’s other daughter Dee Dee and Dee Dee’s daughter Trinity for smiling for the camera; and thanks to Mason Rivers, Toni’s son, for joining us during the session. Thanks to Raven Jackson for her film, which inspired our cover; thanks to Paul Diddy for his love behind the scenes; thanks to Elliot Russell and Lydia Somani for transcribing the lyrics, among many other things; thanks to Christian Georgiadis of Bacana for sending the band to Europe; and a very special thanks to Jayme Evans for overseeing all of Ms. Annie’s interviews from the History Room of the Bryan Public Library of West Point.
A most heartfelt thanks to Pastor Elder Orlando C. Pannell of The Message Center, who graciously let us record this album in his house of worship; and thanks to Willie Joe Caldwell, Sr., whose own father was once the deacon of The Message Center, and who opened the door every morning and closed it every night.
We ate at the Tin Lizzie Café, Pantry 45 and Waffle House every day. Every night, we celebrated our session at Soprano’s Cafe and Billiards with a round of pool and beers. Shout out to West Point, MS.
By the way, Albert Di Fiore constructed an engineering rig that was mobile and drove it all the way from Nashville, TN, to West Point, MS. If you need a remote rig like this to record on location, he’s your guy.
(And if your last name is Jackson, please get in touch).
Annie Brown Caldwell – vocals
Deborah Caldwell Moore – featured vocals
Anjessica Caldwell – backing vocals
Toni Rivers – backing vocals
Hikemia Moore – backing vocals on “Wrong”
Willie Caldwell, Sr. – guitar
Willie Caldwell, Jr. – bass
Abel Aquirius Caldwell – drums
Parker James - Congas
Gerald Jenkins - Hammond B3
This record was lovingly recorded as a family at The Message Center in West Point, Mississippi, October 2023.
Produced by Ahmed Abdullahi Gallab
Engineered by Albert Di Fiore
Mastered and lacquer cut by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman
Executive Produced by Yale Evelev and Eric Welles-Nyström
Liner Notes by Danielle Amir Jackson
Eliza Grace Martin was right here (the whole time)
Designed by Chris Hopkins of Lost Art
Props to Adam Wissing and Jacques Lang, who spent every day of our recording session with cameras on their shoulders, and to Kevin Tran, Savannah Weymouth, and Paul Tyree-Francis for wading through hours and hours of footage to make beautiful videos.
Cover photo by Jomo Fray from the film All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt by Raven Jackson, courtesy of A24 Films LLC.
Thanks to everyone in the Caldwell family for trusting us with this record. Thanks especially to Hikemia Moore, Deborah’s daughter, for contributing backing vocals for her mom and for making us laugh; thanks to Hikemia’s own daughters Ariel and Asia for being a joy; thanks to Deborah’s other daughter Dee Dee and Dee Dee’s daughter Trinity for smiling for the camera; and thanks to Mason Rivers, Toni’s son, for joining us during the session. Thanks to Raven Jackson for her film, which inspired our cover; thanks to Paul Diddy for his love behind the scenes; thanks to Elliot Russell and Lydia Somani for transcribing the lyrics, among many other things; thanks to Christian Georgiadis of Bacana for sending the band to Europe; and a very special thanks to Jayme Evans for overseeing all of Ms. Annie’s interviews from the History Room of the Bryan Public Library of West Point.
A most heartfelt thanks to Pastor Elder Orlando C. Pannell of The Message Center, who graciously let us record this album in his house of worship; and thanks to Willie Joe Caldwell, Sr., whose own father was once the deacon of The Message Center, and who opened the door every morning and closed it every night.
We ate at the Tin Lizzie Café, Pantry 45 and Waffle House every day. Every night, we celebrated our session at Soprano’s Cafe and Billiards with a round of pool and beers. Shout out to West Point, MS.
By the way, Albert Di Fiore constructed an engineering rig that was mobile and drove it all the way from Nashville, TN, to West Point, MS. If you need a remote rig like this to record on location, he’s your guy.
(And if your last name is Jackson, please get in touch).
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