The Staple Singers



horizontal bar

JANICE'S BLUES ALLEY PRESENTS



The Staple Singers



horizontal bar

The Staple Singers



WEB PAGES

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: The The Staple SingersRock and Roll Hall of Fame: The The Staple Singers
Roebuck 'Pops' Staples and the Staple SingersRoebuck "Pops" Staples and the Staple Singers
American Music Archives:  THE STAPLE SINGERSAmerican Music Archives: THE STAPLE SINGERS
horizontal bar


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


BACK TO THE TOP


horizontal bar



LINKSYEARTITLE
1959Uncloudy Day [1959]
1961Swing Low Sweet Chariot
1962Hammer and Nails
1962Swing Low
1962The 25th Day of December
1963Gamblin' Man
1964This Little Light
1965Amen!
1965Freedom Highway
1967For What It's Worth
1968Soul Folk in Action
1969Will the Circle Be Unbroken
1970Landlord
1970We'll Get Over
1971The Staple Swingers
1972Be Altitude: Respect Yourself
1973Be What You Are
1974City in the Sky
1975Let's Do It Again
1976Pass It on
1977Family Tree
1978Unlock Your Mind
1981Hold on to Your Dream
1981This Time Around
1984Turning Point
1985The Staple Singers
1991Sit Down Servant
1991Swingline
2002Uncloudy Day [Koch International] [Reissue]


BACK TO THE TOP


horizontal bar

1959 Uncloudy Day [1959]

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


1961 Swing Low Sweet Chariot

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


1962 Hammer and Nails

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



1962 Swing Low

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



horizontal bar

BACK TO THE TOP


1962 The 25th Day of December

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


1963 Gamblin' Man

1964 This Little Light

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



1965 Amen!

horizontal bar

BACK TO THE TOP


1965 Freedom Highway

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


1967 For What It's Worth

1968 Soul Folk in Action

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



1969 Will the Circle Be Unbroken

1970 Landlord

1970 We'll Get Over

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?


horizontal bar

BACK TO THE TOP


1971 The Staple Swingers

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


1972 Be Altitude: Respect Yourself

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


1973 Be What You Are

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



horizontal bar

BACK TO THE TOP


1974 City in the Sky

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



1975 Let's Do It Again

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


1976 Pass It on

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


1977 Family Tree

1978 Unlock Your Mind

1981 Hold on to Your Dream

1981 This Time Around

horizontal bar

BACK TO THE TOP


1984 Turning Point

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


1985 The Staple Singers

1991 Sit Down Servant

1991 Swingline

2002 Uncloudy Day [Koch International] [Reissue]

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


horizontal bar

BACK TO THE TOP


MAIN PAGE GOLDEN VOICES OLD SCHOOL FUNK PAGE
SILKY SOUL SINGERS ROCK AND ROLL JAZZ
GREAT GROUPS RHYTHM AND BLUES E-MAIL JANICE

graphics by YSM

horizontal bar