THE STAPLE SINGERS
''THE BEST OF THE STAPLE SINGERS (STAX), BONUS TRACK''
OCTOBER 17 1990
64:51
1/Heavy Makes You Happy (Sha-Na-Boom-Boom)
Jeff Barry / John Barry / Bobby Bloom/3:04
2/You've Got to Earn It
Cornelius Grant / Smokey Robinson/3:29
3/Love Is Plentiful
Bettye Crutcher / Bobby Manuel / Roland Manuel/2:30
4/This World
Rosanne Cash / Gary William Friedman / Herb Shapiro/3:30
5/(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay
Steve Cropper / Otis Redding/3:09
6/The Weight
Robbie Robertson/4:31
7/Respect Yourself
Luther Ingram / Sir Mack Rice/4:54
8/We'll Get Over
Homer Banks / Ray Jackson/2:53
9/I'll Take You There
Alvertis Isbell/4:47
10/Oh la de Da
Phillip Mitchell/3:34
11/Be What You Are
Homer Banks / Carl Hampton / Ray Jackson / Raymond Jackson/5:01
12/This Old Town (People in This Town)
Don Covay / Pickett / Stevenson/4:42
13/If You're Ready (Come Go with Me)
Homer Banks / Carl Hampton / Ray Jackson / Raymond Jackson/4:27
14/Touch a Hand (Make a Friend)
Homer Banks / Carl Hampton / Ray Jackson / Raymond Jackson/4:02
15/My Main Man
Bettye Crutcher / Bobby Manuel / Sir Mack Rice/2:12
16/City in the Sky
Charles Chalmers / D. Rhodes/3:51
17/Are You Ready?
C. Allen / J. Hill/4:17
REVIEW
by Richie Unterberger
The best and most famous cuts from their glory years at Stax. Includes their massive hits "Respect Yourself" and "I'll Take You There"; less famous but similar gospel-funk fusions like "Touch a Hand (Make a Friend)" and "Heavy Makes You Happy (Sha-Na-Boom Boom)"; and less expected items like a cover of "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay." It does not, however, have their 1975 number one single "Let's Do It Again," which they recorded just after cutting their ties to Stax.
BIOGRAPHY
by Rob Bowman
The Staples' story goes all the way back to 1915 in Winona, Mississippi, when 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. He was also drawn to the church, and by 1937 he was singing and playing guitar with the Golden Trumpets, a spiritual group based out of Drew, Mississippi. 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 his 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' "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. & 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 passed away on December 19, 2000, shortly after suffering a concussion due to a fall in his home, and Cleotha Staples died in February 2013 after a decade with Alzheimer's disease.
DoWnLoAd
''THE BEST OF THE STAPLE SINGERS (STAX), BONUS TRACK''
OCTOBER 17 1990
64:51
1/Heavy Makes You Happy (Sha-Na-Boom-Boom)
Jeff Barry / John Barry / Bobby Bloom/3:04
2/You've Got to Earn It
Cornelius Grant / Smokey Robinson/3:29
3/Love Is Plentiful
Bettye Crutcher / Bobby Manuel / Roland Manuel/2:30
4/This World
Rosanne Cash / Gary William Friedman / Herb Shapiro/3:30
5/(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay
Steve Cropper / Otis Redding/3:09
6/The Weight
Robbie Robertson/4:31
7/Respect Yourself
Luther Ingram / Sir Mack Rice/4:54
8/We'll Get Over
Homer Banks / Ray Jackson/2:53
9/I'll Take You There
Alvertis Isbell/4:47
10/Oh la de Da
Phillip Mitchell/3:34
11/Be What You Are
Homer Banks / Carl Hampton / Ray Jackson / Raymond Jackson/5:01
12/This Old Town (People in This Town)
Don Covay / Pickett / Stevenson/4:42
13/If You're Ready (Come Go with Me)
Homer Banks / Carl Hampton / Ray Jackson / Raymond Jackson/4:27
14/Touch a Hand (Make a Friend)
Homer Banks / Carl Hampton / Ray Jackson / Raymond Jackson/4:02
15/My Main Man
Bettye Crutcher / Bobby Manuel / Sir Mack Rice/2:12
16/City in the Sky
Charles Chalmers / D. Rhodes/3:51
17/Are You Ready?
C. Allen / J. Hill/4:17
REVIEW
by Richie Unterberger
The best and most famous cuts from their glory years at Stax. Includes their massive hits "Respect Yourself" and "I'll Take You There"; less famous but similar gospel-funk fusions like "Touch a Hand (Make a Friend)" and "Heavy Makes You Happy (Sha-Na-Boom Boom)"; and less expected items like a cover of "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay." It does not, however, have their 1975 number one single "Let's Do It Again," which they recorded just after cutting their ties to Stax.
BIOGRAPHY
by Rob Bowman
The Staples' story goes all the way back to 1915 in Winona, Mississippi, when 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. He was also drawn to the church, and by 1937 he was singing and playing guitar with the Golden Trumpets, a spiritual group based out of Drew, Mississippi. 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 his 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' "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. & 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 passed away on December 19, 2000, shortly after suffering a concussion due to a fall in his home, and Cleotha Staples died in February 2013 after a decade with Alzheimer's disease.
DoWnLoAd
