We Must Be In Love

The Story Behind "We Must Be In Love" by Five Stairsteps & Cubie

A Chicago Family Act on the Rise

Long before streaming playlists and viral moments defined pop success, family groups built their reputations the old-fashioned way, through years of local performances, church harmonies, and word of mouth. The Five Stairsteps were already something of a phenomenon by 1969: a genuinely family-based Chicago soul group, led by siblings Clarence, Alohe, James, Dennis, and Kenneth Burke, with their youngest brother Cubie occasionally joining for recordings, giving the group its distinctive, almost storybook identity as a literal staircase of ages. Curtis Mayfield had helped launch the group's career through his connections at Windy City and later Buddah/Curtom-adjacent labels, and by the late 1960s the Stairsteps were carving out a reputation as one of the more promising young vocal groups working in Chicago soul, admired for a vocal blend that felt genuinely familial rather than merely rehearsed, the kind of tight, instinctive harmony that only comes from growing up in the same household.

Sweet Harmony in a Turbulent Year

"We Must Be In Love" arrived in 1969, a year defined by seismic cultural shifts, yet the song itself stayed rooted in the sweet, harmony-driven soul sound that had become the Stairsteps' calling card. Built around bright vocal interplay and a buoyant arrangement, it reflected the group's gift for optimistic, melodic songwriting even as the broader soul landscape was beginning to embrace grittier, more socially conscious material. The track's charm lay in its simplicity, a family group singing about love with an unforced, youthful sincerity that never strained for effect, letting the natural chemistry among the siblings carry the performance.

A Chart Run That Told Its Own Story

The single debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 on October 18, 1969, entering at number 98. Two weeks later, on November 1, 1969, it jumped to its peak position of number 88, holding that spot for a second week before completing its run. In total, "We Must Be In Love" spent three weeks on the chart, a brief but respectable appearance for a group still building toward the mainstream breakthrough that awaited them just around the corner in the coming year, when the group's sound would reach a far wider national audience.

The Calm Before a Defining Hit

Within roughly a year of this single's chart run, the Five Stairsteps would release "O-o-h Child," the song that would become their signature hit and one of the most enduring soul singles of its era. Viewed in that light, "We Must Be In Love" reads as part of the group's steady climb, evidence of a young act refining its sound and building an audience before its true commercial and cultural breakthrough arrived on the national stage.

A Family Legacy Still Being Written

The Five Stairsteps' story extends well beyond this single, and Cubie's presence on their late-1960s recordings remains a beloved footnote in Chicago soul history, a reminder of how central family truly was to the group's identity and sound. Their catalog as a whole represents an important, if sometimes underappreciated, chapter in the city's rich soul tradition, one built on genuine kinship as much as musical talent and years of shared rehearsal.

A Song Worth Rediscovering

Play "We Must Be In Love" today and you'll hear a young family group brimming with harmony and hope, still a year away from super-stardom but clearly building toward it. It's a warm, unpretentious listen that rewards anyone digging deeper into the Stairsteps' catalog beyond their most famous single, revealing a group that was already remarkably assured well before the wider world took notice. Fans of classic Chicago soul owe it to themselves to trace the group's evolution from these earlier singles through to their commercial peak.

"We Must Be In Love" — Five Stairsteps & Cubie's singular moment on the 1960s charts.