Mavis Staples was born July 10, 1939 in Chicago, Illinois. She starting singing with her family, The Staples Singers. She remembered when she was 8 years old, her father finally turned to his children to become his new group. 10 years old the family made its debut singing at a local Chicago church. After they received an enormous ovation, Staples recalled her father saying, “Shucks, these people like us. We’re going home to learn some more songs!”
With her family she toured the country and gained an impressive following. However they limited their concerts to weekends until Staples graduated from high school in 1957. They recorded two more national hits in the late 1950s: “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” and “This May Be the Last Time,” a song later adapted by The Rolling Stones.
Early in the 1970s as they moved away from traditional gospel and went to record anthems such as “Respect Yourself” and “I’ll Take You There” and soulful R&B love songs like “Let’s Do It Again,” their only song to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart.
Today’s she’s now in her 70s and still going strong!
