Roebuck Staples
| Pops Staples | |
|---|---|
Staples in 1974.
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Roebuck Staples |
| Also known as | "Pops" |
| Born |
December 28, 1914 Winona, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Died | December 19, 2000 (aged 85) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Instruments | Guitar, vocals |
| Years active | 1948–1994 |
| Labels | |
| Associated acts | |
Roebuck "Pops" Staples (December 28, 1914 – December 19, 2000) was an American Gospel and R&B musician. A "pivotal figure in gospel in the 1960s and 1970s," he was an accomplished songwriter, guitarist and singer. He was the patriarch and member of singing group The Staple Singers, which included his son Pervis and daughters Mavis, Yvonne, and Cleotha.
Roebuck Staples was born near Winona, Mississippi, the youngest of 14 children. He grew up on a cotton plantation near Drew, Mississippi. From his earliest years he heard, and began to play with, local blues guitarists such as Charlie Patton (who lived on the nearby Dockery Plantation), Robert Johnson, and Son House. He dropped out of school after the eighth grade, then sang with a gospel group before marrying and moving to Chicago in 1935.
There he sang with the Trumpet Jubilees while working in the stockyards, in construction work, and later in a steel mill. In 1948 Roebuck and his wife Oceola Staples formed The Staple Singers to sing as a gospel group in local churches, with their children. The Staple Singers first recorded in the early 1950s for United and then the larger Vee-Jay Records, with songs including 1955's "This May Be the Last Time" (later covered by The Rolling Stones as "The Last Time") and "Uncloudy Day". In the 1960s the Staple Singers moved to Riverside Records and later Stax Records, and began recording protest, inspirational and contemporary music, reflecting the civil rights and anti-war movements of the time. They gained a large new audience with "Respect Yourself" (which featured Pops, nearly 57 at the time, on lead on the long version for more than two minutes), the 1972 US # 1 hit "I'll Take You There", "If You're Ready (Come Go With Me)", and other hits. "Let's Do It Again" topped the Hot 100 on December 27, 1975, the day before his 61st birthday. Pops Staples (as Pop Staples) also recorded a blues album, Jammed Together, with fellow guitarists Albert King and Steve Cropper.
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