Watch The Staples Singers Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Performance
By Nate Todd May 16, 2021 • 12:08 pm PDT
The Staple Singers’ Pervis Staples sadly died on May 6 at the age of 85. Pervis sang alongside his father Roebuck “Pops” Staples and sisters Cleotha and Mavis in the legendary soul group’s early gospel days when they had hits with standards in the genre like “So Soon,” “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” and “Uncloudy Day” in the 1950s.
While The Staple Singers moved to a more secular soul sound in the 1960s, largely spurred on by Pervis, the group’s music remained message-driven. The Staple Singers were a key voice in the civil rights movement, especially their landmark 1965 album, Freedom Highway. Pervis would make his final record with The Staples Singers in 1968 on their Stax debut Soul Folk in Action. His sister Yvonne filled his shoes when Pervis left the group for military service in the early 1970s and later managed the group The Emotions along with running a popular nightclub.
Pervis was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame alongside his father and sisters in 1999, just a year before Pops Staples’ death in 2000, also at 85. The original lineup of The Staple Singers would perform their early ‘70s hits “Respect Yourself” and “I’ll Take You There.” After being inducted by Lauryn Hill, Pops also gave some history on the family band in his induction speech.
In honor of Pervis Staples, watch him perform with The Staple Singers at their Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame induction in 1999 via the JamBase Live Video Archive for this edition of Sunday Cinema:
