Fronted by Roebuck “Pops” Staples, the Staple Singers have left a mark of soul music, social action, religious conviction and uolifting “message music” since the release of “Uncloudy Day” in 1956. Pops formed the group with his children Cleotha, Pervis, Yvonne, and Mavis and they hit the Top Forty eight times from 1971 to 1975. Two singles reached #1: the funky “I’ll Take You There,” which was on Stax Records, and “Let’s Do It Again,” a film-soundtrack song recorded for Curtis Mayfield’s Curtom label. The group got their start in Mississippi in 1931 when Pops joined the Gospel Trumpets, a local gospel quartet. He moved the family to Chicago in 1936, and Pops and the family signed a contract with the Chicago-based Vee Jay Records in the mid-Fifties. The Staple Singers stayed at Vee Jay from 1956-1962 and after their tenure at Vee-Jay, they recorded for the Riverside label, cut some records for Epic and finally landed at the Memphis based Stax where they had their biggest success with “I’ll Take You There,” “Respect Yourself,” and “I Know A Place.”
Pops Staples died in 2000 but the spirit and songs of The Staple Singers will live on forever.
Links
The Staple Singers – Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

The Staple Singers All Music Guide Entry