The Staple Singers

The Staple Singers were a family gospel group from Chicago (patriarch Roebuck 'Pops' Staples (born 1914 in Winona, Mississippi) and his children Mavis, Cleotha, Pervis, and Yvonne) whose music bridged gospel, blues, soul, and the civil rights movement. Pops Staples's tremolo-laden guitar style was learned directly from Charley Patton on the Dockery Plantation, making the group a living link to the deepest roots of Delta blues. Their recordings for Vee-Jay, Riverside, Epic, and Stax encompassed traditional gospel, freedom songs, and pop-soul crossovers like 'Respect Yourself,' 'I'll Take You There,' and 'If You're Ready (Come Go with Me).' Mavis Staples has continued performing as a solo artist into her eighties.