The Staple Singers

The Staple Singers were 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),[1] Pervis (b. 1935), and Mavis (b. 1939). Yvonne (October 23, 1937 – April 10, 2018)[2][3] 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", "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.

The Staple Singers
The Staple Singers with Soul Train host Don Cornelius in 1974.
Background information
OriginChicago, Illinois, United States
Genres
Years active1948–94
Labels
Associated acts
Past membersRoebuck "Pops" Staples
Cleotha Staples
Mavis Staples
Pervis Staples
Yvonne Staples

History

First child to Roebuck "Pops" Staples and his wife Oceola Staples, Cleotha was born in Drew, Mississippi in 1934.[4] Two years later, Roebuck moved his family from Mississippi to Chicago.[1] Roebuck and Oceola's children, son Pervis and daughters, Mavis and Yvonne, were born in Chicago.[4] Roebuck worked in steel mills and meat packing plants while his family of four children grew up.[5] The family began appearing in Chicago-area churches in 1948.[2] Their first public singing appearance was at the Mount Zion Church, Chicago, where Roebuck's brother, the Rev. Chester Staples, was pastor.[6] They signed their first professional contract in 1952.[7] During their early career, they recorded in an acoustic gospel-folk style with various labels: United Records, Vee-Jay Records (their "Uncloudy Day" and "Will the Circle Be Unbroken?" 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."[8]

The Staples move to Epic saw a run of albums, including the live in-church Freedom Highway 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 and We'll Get Over, Pervis returning for them.[9] 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,[10] moving in a more funk and soul direction.

"For most of this decade, Roebuck Staples—born December 28, 1914, about One Year & two weeks after Frank Sinatra—has been the oldest performer with direct access to the hit parade by some twenty-five years, so here's your chance to mind your elders. It's Mavis's lowdown, occasionally undefined growl that dominates, of course; you should hear how secular she gets with an O.V. Wright blues that got buried on The Staple Swingers. But Pops's unassuming moralism sets the tone and his guitar assures the flow."

—The Best of the Staples Singers review in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981)[11]

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", written by Luther Ingram and Mack Rice, peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard R&B chart and No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. Both hits sold over one million copies and were each awarded a gold disc by the RIAA.[12] 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.[13] In 1973, "If You're Ready (Come Go With Me)" reached No. 9 on the Hot 100 and No. 1 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 No. 1 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 featured a cover of the Talking Heads' "Slippery People" (it 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. Pops Staples died of complications from a concussion suffered in December 2000. In 2005, the group was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Cleotha Staples died in Chicago on February 21, 2013, at the age of 78, after suffering from Alzheimer's disease for over a decade.[14] Mavis Staples has continued to carry on the family tradition and continues to add her vocal talents to both the projects of other artists and her own solo ventures. She appeared at Glastonbury in 2015, 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".[15] Yvonne Staples died on April 10, 2018 at the age of 80.[16]

Documentary

The 2015 documentary film Mavis! recounts the history of The Staple Singers and follows Mavis Staples' solo career after Pops Staples' death. Directed by Jessica Edwards, the film premiered at the 2015 South by Southwest Film Festival and was broadcast by HBO in February 2016.[17]

Awards

The Staple Singers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999[18] and the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2018.[19] They were also honored with a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail in Drew, Mississippi.[20]

Discography

Early albums
  • Uncloudy Day (Vee-Jay, 1959)
  • Swing Low Sweet Chariot (Vee Jay 1961)
  • Gospel Program (Epic 1961)
  • Hammers and Nails (Epic 1962)
  • Great Day (Epic 1963)
  • 25th Day of December (Epic 1963)
  • Spirituals (Epic 1965)
  • Amen! (Epic 1965)
  • Freedom Highway (Epic 1965)
  • Pray On (Epic 1966)
  • Why (Epic 1966)
  • This Little Light (Epic 1966)
  • For What It's Worth (Epic 1967)
  • What the World Needs Now Is Love (Epic 1968)
  • Soul Folk in Action (Stax 1968)
  • We'll Get Over (Stax 1970)

Source:[21]

Charted albums
Year Title Peak chart positions Record label
US
[22]		 US
R&B
[22]		 CAN
[23]
1971 The Staple Swingers 117 9 — Stax
1972 Be Altitude: Respect Yourself 19 3 72
1973 Be What You Are 102 13 —
1974 City in the Sky 125 13 —
1975 Let's Do It Again 20 1 87 Curtom
1976 Pass It On 155 20 — Warner Bros.
1977 Family Tree — 58 —
1978 Unlock Your Mind — 34 —
1984 Turning Point — 43 — Private I
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released.

Charted singles
Year Title Peak chart positions
US
[22]		 US
R&B
[22]		 CAN
[23]		 UK
[24]
1967 "Why? (Am I Treated So Bad)" 95 — — —
"For What It's Worth" 66 — — —
1970 "Love Is Plentiful" — 31 — —
1971 "Heavy Makes You Happy (Sha-Na-Boom Boom)" 27 6 60 —
"You've Got to Earn It" 97 11 — —
"Respect Yourself" 12 2 17 —
1972 "I'll Take You There" 1 1 21 20
"This World" 38 6 85 —
1973 "Oh La De Da" 33 4 — —
"Be What You Are" 66 18 — —
"If You're Ready (Come Go with Me)" 9 1 79 27
1974 "Touch a Hand, Make a Friend" 23 3 33 —
"City in the Sky" 79 4 — —
"My Main Man" 76 18 — —
1975 "Let's Do It Again" 1 1 7 —
1976 "New Orleans" 70 4 84 —
"Love Me, Love Me, Love Me" — 11 — —
1977 "Sweeter Than the Sweet" — 52 — —
"See a Little Further (Than My Bed)" — 77 — —
1978 "I Honestly Love You" — 68 — —
"Unlock Your Mind" — 16 — —
1979 "Chica Boom" — 82 — —
1984 "H-A-T-E (Don't Live Here Anymore)" — 46 — —
"Slippery People" 109 22 — —
"This Is Our Night" — 50 — —
1985 "Are You Ready?" — 39 — —
"Nobody Can Make It on Their Own" — 89 — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released.
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References
  1. Cleotha Staples Obituary legacy.com accessdate July 20, 2018
  2. Stack, Liam (11 April 2018). "Yvonne Staples, Member and Manager of the Staple Singers, Dies at 80". The New York Times. p. A25. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  3. O'Donnell, Maureen. "Yvonne Staples of the Staples Singers dies at 80". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  4. Cleotha Staples: Vocalist with the Staples Singers The Independent accessdate July 20, 2018
  5. Gary Kramer, Liner notes to Riverside l.p. Hammer and Nails, 1962.
  6. H.R.R. Liner notes to original Vee Jay l.p. Uncloudy Day, 1959.
  7. Preiser, David (2002). Uncloudy Day [CD liner notes]. New York: Koch Jazz.
  8. Interview with Bob Dylan. i newspaper (London) Feb 3rd 2015
  9. Liner notes to Stax LPs Soul Folk in Action, 1968 and We'll Get Over, 1969
  10. Rob Bowman Stax: 50th Anniversary Celebration (Beverly Hills) 2007, and see also Rob Bowman, Soulsville USA: The Story of Stax Records there cited.
  11. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: S". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 12, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  12. Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 303. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
  13. Billboard Publications Inc. Billboard R&B/Soul and Billboard Hot 100 charts, 10.9.1971 and 4.1.1972, cited by Rob Bowman, above.
  14. Obituaries, The New York Times, February 24, 2013; The Guardian newspaper (London), February 24, 2013.
  15. The Times newspaper, (London), February 19, 2016.
  16. "Yvonne Staples of the Staple Singers dead at 80". suntimes.com.
  17. "Critic reviews for Mavis!". metacritic.com. February 28, 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  18. "Inductee Explorer - Rock & Roll Hall of Fame". rockhall.com.
  19. "Staple Singers". Gospel Music Hall of Fame. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  20. "Staple Singers". Mississippi Blues Trail.
  21. The Encyclopedia of Popular Music, p. 3105 0857125958 Colin Larkin - 2011.
  22. "US Charts > Staple Singers". Billboard. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  23. "CAN Charts > Staple Singers". RPM. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  24. Dafydd Rees, Barry Lazell & Roger Osborne 40 Years of New Musical Express Charts (London) 1992. Entries for June 17, 1972, & July 6, 1974.
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