The Staple Singers

Biography

The Staple Singers was an American gospel, soul, and R&B singing group. Roebuck "Pops" Staples (December 28, 1914 – December 19, 2000), the patriarch of the family, formed the group with his children Cleotha (April 11, 1934 – February 21, 2013), Pervis (November 18, 1935 – May 6, 2021), and Mavis (b. July 10, 1939). Yvonne (October 23, 1937 – April 10, 2018) replaced her brother when he was drafted into the U.S. Army, and again in 1970. They are best known for their 1970s hits "Respect Yourself×Respect YourselfSeptember 1971 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksARespect Yourself3:30BYou're Gonna Make Me Cry5:05", "I'll Take You There", "If You're Ready (Come Go with Me)", and "Let's Do It Again". While the family name is Staples, the group used "Staple" commercially.

History

First child to Roebuck "Pops" Staples and his wife Oceola Staples, Cleotha was born in Drew, Mississippi, in 1934. Two years later, Roebuck moved his family from Mississippi to Chicago. Roebuck and Oceola's children, son Pervis and daughters, Mavis and Yvonne, were born in Chicago. Roebuck worked in steel mills and meatpacking plants while his family of four children grew up. The family began appearing in Chicago-area churches in 1948. Their first public singing appearance was at the Mount Zion Church, Chicago, where Roebuck's brother, the Rev. Chester Staples, was pastor.
They signed their first professional contract in 1952. During their early career, they recorded in an acoustic gospel-folk style with various labels: United Records, Vee-Jay Records (their "Uncloudy Day×Uncloudy Day1959 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracksA1Uncloudy Day2:59A2Let Me Ride2:42A3God'’s Wonderful Love2:41A4Help Me Jesus2:44A5I’m Coming Home2:36A6If I Could Hear My Mother2:49B1Low Is the Way2:32B2I Had a Dream2:54B3On My Way to Heaven2:22B4Going Away1:57B5I’m Leaning2:20B6I Know I Got Religion2:27" and "Will the Circle Be Unbroken×Will the Circle Be Unbroken1960 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracksA1Will the Circle Be Unbroken2:47A2Too Close5:30A3Come on Up in Glory2:31A4Don’t Drive Me Away2:32A5Don’t Knock2:20B1So Soon2:40B2Somebody Saved Me2:39B3Pray On2:36B4Downward Road2:35B5Let’s Go Home1:30?" were best sellers), Checker Records, Riverside Records, and then Epic Records in 1965. "Uncloudy Day" was an early influence on Bob Dylan, who said of it in 2015, "It was the most mysterious thing I'd ever heard ... I'd think about them even at my school desk ... Mavis looked to be about the same age as me in her picture (on the cover of "Uncloudy Day") ... Her singing just knocked me out ... And Mavis was a great singer—deep and mysterious. And even at the young age, I felt that life itself was a mystery."
The move to Epic yielded a run of albums, including the live in-church Freedom Highway×Freedom Highway1965 · Album · LiveSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 18 tracks1Intro by Pops Staples2:302When the Saints Go Marching In2:303The Funeral3:284Built on That Shore1:485We Shall Overcome3:546Freedom Highway4:047What You Gonna Do?2:448Precious Lord, Take My Hand4:589When I'm Gone3:0910Help Me Jesus10:1811Rev. Hopkins / Offering7:0312Jesus Is All5:3713Samson and Delilah3:0014View the Holy City3:3815Tell Heaven6:1016He's All Right4:1317Pops Outro6:5618Benediction0:33 album produced by Billy Sherrill; the title track of which was a civil rights movement protest song penned by Pops Staples. It was on Epic that the Staple Singers developed a style more accessible to mainstream audiences, with "Why (Am I Treated So Bad)" and "For What It's Worth" (Stephen Stills) in 1967. In 1968, the Staple Singers signed to Stax Records and released two albums with Steve Cropper—Soul Folk in Action×Soul Folk in Action1968 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracksA1We’ve Got to Get Ourselves Together2:44A2(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay3:13A3Top of the Mountain3:03A4Slow Train2:49A5The Weight4:36B1Long Walk to D.C.2:33B2Got to Be Some Changes Made2:40B3The Ghetto3:46B4People, My People2:33B5I See It3:01B6This Year1:59 and We'll Get Over, Pervis returning for them. After Cropper left Stax, Al Bell produced their recordings, conducting the rhythm sessions at the famed Muscle Shoals Sound Studio and cutting the overdubs himself with engineer/musician Terry Manning at Memphis's Ardent Studios, moving in a more funk and soul direction. Their song "Brand New Day", written by Al Kooper for the film, was used as the theme song (and for the opening title credits) of The Landlord (1970).

The Staple Singers' first Stax hit was "Heavy Makes You Happy (Sha-Na-Boom-Boom)" in early 1971. Their late 1971 recording of "Respect Yourself×Respect YourselfSeptember 1971 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksARespect Yourself3:30BYou're Gonna Make Me Cry5:05", written by Luther Ingram and Mack Rice, peaked at number two on the Billboard R&B chart and number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. Both hits sold over one million copies and were each awarded a gold disc by the Recording Industry Association of America. The song's theme of self-empowerment had universal appeal, released in the period immediately following the intense American civil rights movement of the 1960s. In 1972, "I'll Take You There" topped both Billboard charts. In 1973, "If You're Ready (Come Go With Me)" reached number 9 on the Hot 100 and number one on the R&B chart.
After Stax's 1975 bankruptcy, The Staple Singers signed to Curtis Mayfield's label, Curtom Records, and released "Let's Do It Again", produced by Mayfield; the song became their second number-one pop hit in the U.S., and the album was also successful. In 1976, they collaborated with The Band for their film The Last Waltz, performing on the song "The Weight" (which The Staple Singers had previously covered on their first Stax album). However, they were not able to regain their momentum, releasing only occasional minor hits. The 1984 album Turning Point×Turning Point1984 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracksA1This Is Our Night4:03A2Slippery People4:19A3Bridges Instead of Walls3:38A4The Turning Point3:22B1Right Decision5:30B2H‐A‐T‐E (Don’t Live Here Anymore)5:30B3On My Own Again4:30B4That’s What Friends Are For3:30 featured a cover of Talking Heads' "Slippery People×Slippery People1984 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksASlippery People (club version)5:30BSlippery People (instrumental)4:50", which reached the Top 5 on the Dance chart. In 1994, they again performed the song "The Weight" with country music artist Marty Stuart for MCA Nashville's Rhythm, Country and Blues compilation, somewhat re-establishing an audience. The song "Respect Yourself" was used by Spike Lee in the soundtrack to his movie Crooklyn, made in 1994.
In 1999, The Staple Singers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, where they performed "Respect Yourself" and "I'll Take You There".
Pops Staples died of complications from a concussion suffered in December 2000. Cleotha Staples died in Chicago on February 21, 2013, at the age of 78, after suffering from Alzheimer's disease for over a decade. Mavis Staples has continued to collaborate on both the projects of other artists and her own solo work. In 2022, she released Carry Me Home, a collaboration with Levon Helm, recorded at Helm's Midnight Ramble in 2011. She appeared at Glastonbury in 2015 and 2019, and her 2016 album Livin' on a High Note includes a simple acoustic version of a Martin Luther King sermon in the track "MLK Song". Yvonne Staples died on April 10, 2018, at the age of 80. Pervis Staples died suddenly in his home in Dolton, Illinois, on May 6, 2021, at the age of 85, leaving Mavis as the band's last surviving member.

Documentary

The 2015 documentary film Mavis! recounts the history of The Staple Singers and follows Mavis Staples's solo career after Pops Staples's death. Directed by Jessica Edwards, the film premiered at the 2015 South by Southwest Film Festival and was broadcast by HBO in February 2016.