Roebuck "Pops" Staples (1914-2000)

December 28 is the birthday of Roebuck "Pops" Staples (1914-2000), American gospel and R&B musician. Staples was a songwriter, guitarist and singer, and considered by many to be a pivotal figure in gospel music in the 1960s and 70s. Staples was the patriarch and member of singing group The Staple Singers, which included his son Pervis and daughters Mavis, Yvonne, and Cleotha. The Staple Singers are best known for their 1970s hits “Respect Yourself”, “I’ll Take You There”, “If You’re Ready (Come Go with Me)”, “Let’s Do It Again.” 

Staples was born on a cotton plantation near Winona, Mississippi, the youngest of 14 children. He heard, and began to play with, local blues guitarists such as Charlie Patton, who lived nearby, Robert Johnson, and Son House. Staples dropped out of school after the eighth grade, and then sang with a gospel group before marrying and moving to Chicago in 1935. 

There Staples sang with the Trumpet Jubilees while working in the stockyards, in construction work, and later in a steel mill. In 1948, he and his wife, Oceola, 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. The group 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 his 61st birthday, on December 28, 1975. Pops Staples also recorded a blues album, Jammed Together, with fellow guitarists Albert King and Steve Cropper. 

In 1976, Staples also appeared in the movie documenting The Band's final concert, The Last Waltz (released in 1978). Pops Staples shared vocals with his daughters and with Levon Helm and Rick Danko on "The Weight." The group appeared in the concert on stage, but their later performance, shot on a soundstage, was used in the final film. It is considered by some fans as the definitive version of the song. 

After Mavis left for a solo career in the 1980s, Pops Staples began a solo career, appearing at international "blues" festivals (though steadfastly refusing to sing the blues), and tried his hand at acting. His 1992 album Peace to the Neighborhood won a Grammy nomination, and in 1995 he won a Best Contemporary Blues Album Grammy for Father, Father. 

In 1986, Staples played the role of Mr. Tucker, a voodoo witch doctor, in the Talking Heads film True Stories, during which he performed the song "Papa Legba". Staples appears as himself in the 1997 Barry Levinson film  Wag the Dog, singing "Good Old Shoe" with Willie Nelson. 

In 1998, Staples received a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, and in 1999 the Staple Singers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 

Staples died after suffering a concussion in a fall at his home, just nine days short of his 86th birthday. After his death, his daughters Yvonne and Mavis gave one of his guitars to country and gospel musician Marty Stuart. 

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