Danger! She's A Stranger

Album: The Best Of The Five Stairsteps (1967)
Charted: 89
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This is a rare song where a guy makes his play by letting the girl know it's a risky proposition: falling for a stranger brings lots of possibility, but also a danger. Perhaps she should make a run for it, but delivered with the rich, soulful sounds of The Five Stairsteps, it just might work.
  • This is one of several modest hits for The Five Stairsteps before they landed a big one with "O-o-h Child" in 1970. They were a family vocal group out of Chicago led by Clarence Burke Jr., who wrote this song with Greg Fowler and Curtis Mayfield. It was released on Mayfield's Windy C label and peaked at #16 on the R&B chart.
  • The groove became a popular sample, used on "Two Dope Boyz (In a Cadillac)" by OutKast and "America" by Mac Miller and dozen of other songs.

Comments: 1

  • Calvin from Cleveland, Ohio Stan Vincent is not the original written of O-o child, Clarence Burke Jr. and brothers and sister Alohe Burke. It was stolen by Stan Vincent. To Wit: Calvin Drake
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Tom Bailey of Thompson Twins

Tom Bailey of Thompson TwinsSongwriter Interviews

Tom stopped performing Thompson Twins songs in 1987, in part because of their personal nature: "Hold Me Now" came after an argument with his bandmate/girlfriend Alannah Currie.

Name the Character in the Song

Name the Character in the SongMusic Quiz

With a few clues (Works at a diner, dreams of running away), can you name the character in the song?

The Truth Is Out There: A History of Alien Songs

The Truth Is Out There: A History of Alien SongsSong Writing

The trail runs from flying saucer songs in the '50s, through Bowie, blink-182 and Katy Perry.

Jethro Tull

Jethro TullFact or Fiction

Stage urinals, flute devices, and the real Aqualung in this Fact or Fiction.

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney Princesses

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney PrincessesSong Writing

From "Some Day My Prince Will Come" to "Let It Go" - how Disney princess songs (and the women who sing them) have evolved.

Ed Roland of Collective Soul

Ed Roland of Collective SoulSongwriter Interviews

The stories behind "Shine," "December," "The World I Know" and other Collective Soul hits.