A family group that is one of the most well-known in gospel music. They were also a charting soul band of the 1970s, thanks to Mavis Staple, their unique, husky pipes. The Staples story begins in 1915, when patriarch Roebuck “Pops” Staples was born. Roebuck, a contemporary and well-known friend of Charley Patton, quickly became a skilled solo blues guitarist and entertained at local picnics and dances. He was attracted to the church and was soon singing and playing the guitar with the Golden Trumpets (a spiritual group from Drew, Mississippi). He moved to Chicago four more years later and continued his gospel music playing with the Windy City’s Trumpet Jubilees. Pops Staples, as he was known, presented his two daughters, Cleotha, Mavis and Pervis to a church audience a decade later. The Staple Singers were born. The Staples recorded in a more Southern-inspired, archaic style for Vee-Jay and United. Pops and Mavis shared the lead vocal duties, with many records being underpinned by Pops’ Mississippi cotton-patch guitarist. The Staples signed with Riverside in 1960, a label that was primarily focused on jazz and folk. The Staples tried to get into the booming white folk scene with Riverside and Epic. In 1967, two Epic songs, “Why (AmI Treated So Bad”) and “For What It’s Worth” were briefly on the pop charts. The Staples signed in 1968 with Memphis-based Stax. Booker T. backed the first two albums, Soul Folk in Action u0026 We’ll Get Over.
