Editing The Staple Singers (section)

==History==
First child to Roebuck "Pops" Staples and his wife Oceola Staples, Cleotha was born in [[Drew, Mississippi]], in 1934.<ref name =theindependent>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/cleotha-staples-vocalist-with-the-staples-singers-8517604.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/cleotha-staples-vocalist-with-the-staples-singers-8517604.html |archive-date=June 18, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Cleotha Staples: Vocalist with the Staples Singers|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|accessdate=July 20, 2018|first=Pierre|last=Perrone|date=March 2, 2013}}</ref> Two years later, Roebuck moved his family from Mississippi to [[Chicago]].<ref name= legacy.com/> Roebuck and Oceola's children, son Pervis and daughters, Mavis and Yvonne, were born in Chicago.<ref name =theindependent/> Roebuck worked in steel mills and meatpacking plants while his family of four children grew up.<ref>Gary Kramer, Liner notes to Riverside l.p. ''Hammer and Nails'', 1962.</ref> The family began appearing in [[Chicago metropolitan area|Chicago-area]] churches in 1948.<ref name= nytimesobi>{{cite news|last1=Stack|first1=Liam|title=Yvonne Staples, Member and Manager of the Staple Singers, Dies at 80|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/10/obituaries/yvonne-staples-singers.html|access-date= April 16, 2018|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=11 April 2018|page=A25}}</ref> Their first public singing appearance was at the Mount Zion Church, Chicago, where Roebuck's brother, the Rev. Chester Staples, was pastor.<ref>H.R.R. Liner notes to original Vee Jay l.p. ''Uncloudy Day'', 1959.</ref>

They signed their first professional contract in 1952.<ref>Preiser, David (2002). ''Uncloudy Day'' [CD liner notes]. New York: Koch Jazz.</ref> During their early career, they recorded in an acoustic gospel-[[folk music|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&nbsp;... I'd think about them even at my school desk&nbsp;... Mavis looked to be about the same age as me in her picture (on the cover of "Uncloudy Day")&nbsp;... Her singing just knocked me out&nbsp;... And Mavis was a great singer—deep and mysterious. And even at the young age, I felt that life itself was a mystery."<ref>Interview with Bob Dylan. ''i'' newspaper (London) Feb 3rd 2015</ref>

The move to Epic yielded a run of albums, including the live in-church ''[[Freedom Highway (The Staple Singers album)|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 (Buffalo Springfield song)|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.<ref>Liner notes to Stax LPs ''Soul Folk in Action'', 1968 and ''We'll Get Over'', 1969</ref> 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]],<ref>Rob Bowman ''Stax: 50th Anniversary Celebration'' (Beverly Hills) 2007, and see also Rob Bowman, ''Soulsville USA: The Story of Stax Records'' there cited.</ref> moving in a more [[Funk music|funk]] and [[soul music|soul]] direction.

{{quote box|quote="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 Staples|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."|source=—''The Best of the Staples Singers'' review in ''[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies]]'' (1981)<ref name="CG">{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1981|title=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|title-link=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|publisher=[[Ticknor & Fields]]|isbn=089919026X|chapter=Consumer Guide '70s: S|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=S&bk=70|access-date=March 12, 2019|via=robertchristgau.com}}</ref>|width=23%|align=right|style=padding:8px;}}

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 number two on the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]] chart and number 12 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Both hits sold over one million copies and were each awarded a [[music recording sales certification|gold disc]] by the [[Recording Industry Association of America]].<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs">{{cite book|first=Joseph|last=Murrells|year=1978|title=The Book of Golden Discs|edition=2nd|publisher=Barrie and Jenkins Ltd|location=London|page= [https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/303 303]|isbn=0-214-20512-6|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/303}}</ref> 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 (magazine)|Billboard]]'' charts.<ref name="allmusic"/> 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.<ref name="allmusic"/>

After Stax's 1975 bankruptcy, The Staple Singers signed to [[Curtis Mayfield]]'s label, [[Curtom Records]], and released "[[Let's Do It Again (song)|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'' featured a cover of [[Talking Heads]]' "Slippery People", 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 Records|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.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2000-12-21|title=R&B pioneer Pops Staples dies|language=en-GB|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1081167.stm|access-date=2020-12-02|website=[[BBC News]]}}</ref> Cleotha Staples died in Chicago on February 21, 2013, at the age of 78, after suffering from [[Alzheimer's disease]] for over a decade.<ref>Obituaries, ''The New York Times'', February 24, 2013; ''The Guardian'' newspaper (London), February 24, 2013.</ref> [[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. In 2022, she released ''[[Carry Me Home (album)|Carry Me Home]]'', a collaboration with [[Levon Helm]], recorded at Helm's Midnight Ramble in 2011. She appeared at [[Glastonbury Festival|Glastonbury]] in 2015<ref>{{Cite web|title=Glastonbury 2015 - Mavis Staples|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/e84mxj/acts/acgbc8|access-date=2020-12-02|website=BBC Music Events|language=en}}</ref> and 2019,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Glastonbury 2019 - Mavis Staples|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/er3v9r/acts/abcqfx|access-date=2020-12-02|website=BBC Music Events|language=en}}</ref> and her 2016 album ''[[Livin' on a High Note]]'' includes a simple acoustic version of a [[Martin Luther King Jr.|Martin Luther King]] sermon in the track "MLK Song".<ref>''The Times'' newspaper, (London), February 19, 2016.</ref> Yvonne Staples died on April 10, 2018, at the age of 80.<ref name="Suntimes" /> 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2021/05/13/996553392/pervis-staples-founding-member-of-the-staple-singers-dies-at-age-85|title=Pervis Staples, Founding Member Of The Staple Singers, Dies At Age 85|first=Andrew|last=Limbong|publisher=NPR|date=2021-05-13|access-date=2021-05-13}}</ref>