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The Staple Singers

Revered as the "first family of gospel," The Staple Singers were founded in 1948 when Roebuck "Pops" Staples and family first began performing at local Chicago area churches. Transcending their traditional gospel roots, the group entered into the mainstream of American popular music in 1972 when their song, "I'll Take You There," earned a #1 spot on both the soul and pop music charts.

Pops and his daughters Mavis, Yvonne and Cleotha followed that success with such top 40 hits as "Respect Yourself," "Heavy Makes You Happy (Sha-Na-Boom Boom)," and "If You're Ready (Come Go With Me)."

Solo releases on the Virgin/pointblank label – including the 1992 Grammy nominated "Peace To The Neighborhood" and 1994's Grammy winning "Father Father" – document Pops Staples' continued quest to create music true to his personal convictions: messages of hope, faith and brotherhood.

The Boston Globe has said of the group, "It is truly hard to imagine anyone resisting the Staples' rich harmonies and uplifting spirit... an infusion of pure joy."

The Staple Singers Roebuck Staple was born in Winona, Mississippi, on December 28, 1915. He grew up in nearby Drew, dropping out of school after the 8th grade, to pick cotton at Dockery's plantation for ten cents a day. At an early age, he fell under the influence of the blues, and Charley Patton, another Dockery plantation worker, was an early inspiration.

In 1935, Roebuck grew tired of the hard life in rural Mississippi and moved to Chicago with his wife Oceala. The move marked the end of his involvement with the blues. "I was a Christian man. I figured the blues wasn't the right field for me. My family was a real religious family, there were 14 of us. In the evening, when we used to get through working in the fields, we didn't have no amusement but to sing to ourselves, we didn't have no radio, no television, nothing like that. That's the way my family got started singing. I took it from my father's family and brought it to Chicago."

Roebuck started to teach gospel music to his children, Cleotha, Mavis, Pervis and Yvonne. Pretty soon, the family produced a stirring and unique sound. "I knew how to get harmony and teach each one. I'd hit the guitar string where they were supposed to sing, and they caught in." The Staple Singers began appearing at Roebuck's brother Chester's congregation in Chicago in 1948 and soon branched out to other churches. Mavis, then 7 years old, sang the bass parts.

Pretty soon, The Staple Singers made their first recording sessions for the Royal and United labels. However, it was not until their fourth session, the second one for VeeJay, by September 1956, that the group fell into full stride. Captured in all its purity with Roebuck's minimalist guitar backing, his own vibratoless tenor and the throaty harmonies of daughters Mavis and Cleotha and son Pervis, the Staple Singers recorded two gospel classics: "Uncloudy Day" and "I Know I Got Religion."

During the next five years, the Staples recorded some of their best work for VeeJay, where they remained true to the essential strengths of their style, elements they expanded later. The increasing use of protest songs, followed by popular hits like "I'll Take You There" during the early seventies, introduced yet another facet to their music as it became on the Stax/Volt! label.

Notable songs include --