The Staple Singers |
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Wed. December 20.2000 6:06 PM EST |
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'Pops' Staples Worked Till Final DaysLate Staple Singers founder was 'absolutely unique,' friend, fellow musician Bonnie Raitt says. by Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen and Corey Moss |
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Roebuck "Pops" Staples, left, recorded his first solo album, Peace to the Neighborhood, at age 77 in 1992. (Sonicnet Artist page) |
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Staple Singers founder Roebuck "Pops" Staples, who died Tuesday at age 84, was a gifted musician who honed his craft until his final days, according to friend and fellow blues guitarist Lonnie Brooks. "As a singer and guitar player, he was
"We played together last year, and he was cookin'," said Brooks, who is a Chicago resident, as was Staples. "Old Pops could still get down. He stole that show. That cat got a unique style. Nobody else could play like him." Staples had fallen and sustained a concussion recently at his home in suburban Chicago, according to the Associated Press. His family has not been available for comment. Born in Mississippi in 1915, Staples started singing the blues and honing his guitar skills by watching the legendary Charley Patton on Dockery's Plantation, one of the wellsprings of great Delta blues. Later, he sang with the gospel group the Golden Trumpets before he and his wife, Oceala, moved to Chicago in 1936. When Staples put together the Staple Singers, composed of Pops and his children Pervis, Mavis and Cleotha, he brought his distinctive, Delta-blues-influenced guitar playing to the Southern black gospel sound. Brooks said he met Staples shortly after the first time he saw him play — in Chicago in the 1940s. "He was as soulful and raw as you could get," Brooks said. "It wasn't slick. Him and his daughters were the best out here. Their songs touched you. They lead you on a track and were deeply positive. He would always tell me, 'You gonna get it son, keep on playin'." Though the Staple Singers first recorded for Vee-Jay in the 1950s, they found their niche singing R&B with a gospel flavor for Stax in the 1960s. Albums such as Freedom Highway (1965) and Soul Folk in Action (1968) were infused with a dose of gospel politics that made the Staple Singers important musical figures in the civil rights movement. Daughter Yvonne replaced Pervis in the group in 1966. The group's greatest success came in the early 1970s. "I'll Take You There" (RealAudio excerpt), from 1971's Bealtitude: Respect Yourself, became a #1 pop hit, with its catchy opening guitar-and-horns riff and the choral repetitions of the title. Though Mavis usually handled lead vocals, Pops took the mic for the group's other biggest top 40 hit, "Respect Yourself." The group continued to record and tour throughout the 1980s, and Mavis went on to a successful solo career with the help of Prince. Pops Staples recorded his first solo album, Peace to the Neighborhood, at age 77 in 1992. The Grammy-nominated disc mixed gospel and blues and featured appearances by Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne and Ry Cooder. "Pops Staples was a dear friend and one of the deepest inspirations to me in my musical and personal life," Raitt said. "I treasure our friendship and the incredible gift of getting to work together on his Neighborhood album, along with his commitment to sing only songs that would uplift the world and bring people together. With his wonderful Staples family, he made some of the most beloved and remarkable music ever. As a messenger for the Gospel he loved so well, for me, there was no more convincing minister." "He was always serious about what he was doing," Brooks said. "He was probably the greatest star I ever met." Staples also launched a short acting career that included roles in 1986's "True Stories" and Barry Levinson's 1997 satire, "Wag the Dog." [This story was updated at 2:30 p.m. ET Friday, December 22, 2000.] |
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