Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: The The Staple Singers | Roebuck "Pops" Staples and the Staple Singers | American Music Archives: THE STAPLE SINGERS |
The Staples story goes all the way back to Winona, MS, in 1915. It was then and there that patriarch Roebuck Staples entered the world. A contemporary and familiar of Charley Patton, Roebuck quickly became adept as a solo blues guitarist, entertaining at local dances and picnics. Gradually drawn to the church, by 1937 he was singing and playing guitar with a spiritual group based out of Drew, MS., the Golden Trumpets. Moving to Chicago four years later, he continued playing gospel music with the Windy City's Trumpet Jubilees. A decade later Pops Staples (as he had become known) presented two of his daughters, Cleotha and Mavis, and one son, Pervis, in front of a church audience, and the Staple Singers were born.
The Staples recorded in an older, slightly archaic, deeply Southern spiritual style first for United and then for Vee-Jay. Pops and Mavis Staples shared lead vocal chores, with most records underpinned by Pops' heavily reverbed Mississippi cotton patch guitar. In 1960 the Staples signed with Riverside, a label that specialized in jazz and folk. With Riverside and later Epic, the Staples attempted to move into the then-burgeoning White folk boom. Two Epic releases, "Why (Am I Treated So Bad)" and a cover of Stephen Stills's "For What It's Worth," briefly graced the pop charts in 1967.
In 1968 the Staples signed with Memphis-based Stax. The first two albums, Soul Folk in Action and We'll Get Over, were produced by Steve Cropper and backed by Booker T and the MG's. The Staples were now singing entirely contemporary "message" songs such as "Long Walk to D.C." and "When Will We Be Paid." In 1970 Pervis Staples left, and was replaced by sister Yvonne Staples. Even more significantly, Al Bell took over production chores. Bell took them down the road to Muscle Shoals, and things got decidedly funky.
Starting with "Heavy Makes You Happy (Sha-Na-Boom Boom)" and "I'll Take You There," the Staples counted 12 chart hits at Stax. When Stax encountered financial problems, Curtis Mayfield signed the Staples to his Curtom label and produced a number one hit in "Let's Do It Again." The Staples went on to continued chart success, albeit less spectacularly, with Warner, through 1979. One more album followed on 20th Century-Fox in 1981. After a three-year hiatus, they signed a two-album deal with Private I and hit the R&B charts five more times, once with an unlikely cover of Talking Heads' "Slippery People."
The Staple Singers found a new audience in 1994 when they teamed with Marty Stuart to perform "The Weight" on the Rhythm, Country and Blues LP for MCA. Sadly, Pops Staples passed away on December 19, 2000, shortly after suffering a concussion due to a fall in his home. -- Rob Bowman, All Music Guide
01. Uncloudy Day 02. Let Me Ride 03. God's Wonderful Love 04. Help Me Jesus 05. I'm Coming Home 06. If I Could Hear My Mother Pray |
07. Love Is the Way 08. I Had a Dream 09. On My Way to Heaven 10. Going Away 11. I'm Leaving 12. I Know I Got Religion |
01. I'm So Glad 02. Swing Down, Chariot 03. The Old Landmark 04. Good News 05. Each Day 06. Uncloudy Day |
07. Let's Go Home 08. Pray On 09. Help Me Jesus 10. Going Away 11. Don't Knock 12. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot |
01. Hammer and Nails 02. Gloryland 03. Everybody Will Be Happy 04. Hear My Call, Here 05. Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen 06. Great Day |
07. I'm Willin', Pts. 1-2 08. Do You Know Him? 09. New Born Soul 10. A Dying Man's Plea 11. New Home |
01. Born in Bethlehem 02. Stand by Me 03. I've Been Scorned 04. Two Wings 05. Calling Me 06. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot |
07. Sit Down Servant 08. The Day Has Passed and Gone 09. Good News 10. Let's Go Home 11. This May Be the Last Time |
01. The Virgin Mary Had One Son 02. There Was a Star 03. Joy to the World 04. The Savior Is Born 05. O Little Town of Bethlehem 06. Wasn't That a Mighty Day |
07. The Last Month of the Year 08. Holy Unto the Lord 09. Go Tell It on the Mountain 10. Sweet Little Jesus Boy 11. No Room at the Inn 12. Silent Night |
01. This Little Light of Mine 02. Let Jesus Lead You 03. My Dying Bed 04. A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall 05. You Got Shoes 06. What Are They Doing (In Heaven Today) |
07. Will the Lord Remember Me 08. Praying Time 09. I Can't Help from Cryin' Sometime 10. Use What You Got 11. Masters of War |
01. Will the Circle Be Unbroken 02. Move Along Train 03. Are You Sure 04. Wade in the Water 05. If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again 06. Glory, Glory Hallelujah 07. The Lord's Prayer 08. Jacob's Ladder 09. Why (Am I Treated So Bad) |
10. Praying Time 11. For What It's Worth 12. Hammer and Nails 13. Freedom Highway 14. What You Gonna Do? 15. Samson and Delilah 16. Nobody's Fault But Mine 17. Be Careful of Stones That You Throw 18. This Train |
01. We've Got to Get Ourselves Together 02.(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay 03. Top of the Mountain 04. Slow Train 05. The Weight 06. Long Walk to D.C. 07. Got to Be Some Changes Made |
08. The Ghetto 09. People, My People 10. I See It 11. This Year 12. The Lady's Letter 13. Pop's Instrumental |
01. We'll Get Over 02. Give a Damn 03. Everyday People 04. The End of Our Road 05. Tend to Your Own Business 06. Solon Bushi 07. The Challenge |
08. God Bless the Child 09. Games People Play 10. A Wednesday in Your Garden 11. The Gardner 12. When Will We Be Paid 13. Brand New Day 14. Who Took the Merry Out of Christmas? |
01. This Is a Perfect World 02. What's Your Thing 03. You've Got to Earn It 04. You're Gonna Make Me Cry 05. Little Boy 06. How Do You Move a Mountain |
07. Almost 08. I'm a Lover 09. Love Is Plentiful 10. Heavy Makes You Happy 11. I Like the Things About You 12. Give a Hand, Take a Hand |
01. This World 02. Respect Yourself 03. Name the Missing Word 04. I'll Take You There 05. This Old Town (People in This Town) |
06. We the People 07. Are You Sure 08. Who Do You Think You Are 09. I'm Just Another Soldier 10. Who |
01. Be What You Are 02. If You're Ready (Come Go With Me) 03. Love Comes in All Colors/Tellin' Lies 04. Touch a Hand (Make a Friend) 05. Drown Yourself 06. I Ain't Raisin' No Sand |
07. Grandma's Hands 08. Bridges Instead of Walls 09. I'm on Your Side 10. That's What Friends Are For 11. Heaven |
01. Back Road into Town 02. City in the Sky 03. Washington We're Watching You 04. Something Ain't Right 05. Today Was Tomorrow Yesterday 06. My Main Man 07. There Is a God 08. Blood Pressure |
09. If It Ain't One Thing It's Another 10. Who Made the Man 11. Getting Too Big for Your Britches 12. Oh la de Da 13. I Like the Things About You 14. Respect Yourself 15. I'll Take You There |
01. Let's Do It Again 02. Funky Love 03. A Whole Lot of Love 04. New Orleans |
05. I Want to Thank You 06. Big Mac 07. After Sex 08. Chase |
01. Real Thing Inside of Me/Party 02. Take Your Own Time 03. Sweeter Than the Sweet 04. Love Me, Love Me, Love Me |
05. Pass It On 06. Making Love 07. Take This Love of Mine 08. Precious, Precious |
01. This Is Our Night 02. Slippery People 03. Bridges Instead of Walls 04. Turning Point |
05. Right Decision 06. H-A-T-E (Don't Live Here Anymore) 07. On My Own Again 08. That's What Friends Are For |
01. Uncloudy Day 02. Let Me Ride 03. God's Wonderful Love 04. Help Me Jesus 05. I'm Coming Home 06. If I Could Hear My Mother Pray |
07. Love Is the Way 08. I Had a Dream 09. On My Way to Heaven 10. Going Away 11. I'm Leaving 12. I Know I Got Religion |