1. Pops Staples was the patriarch and member of singing group The Staple Singers, which included his son Pervis and daughters Mavis, Yvonne, and Cleotha.
12 Facts About Pops Staples
1. 2.
Roebuck Staples was born near Winona, Mississippi, the youngest of 14 children.
3.
Pops Staples grew up on a cotton plantation near Drew, Mississippi.
4.
Pops Staples dropped out of school after the eighth grade, then sang with a gospel group before marrying and moving to Chicago in 1935.
5.
In 1948, Roebuck and his wife Oceola Pops Staples formed The Staple Singers to sing as a gospel group in local churches, with their children.
6.
Pops Staples recorded a blues album, Jammed Together, with fellow guitarists Albert King and Steve Cropper.
7.
In 1976, Pops Staples appeared in the movie documenting The Band's final concert, The Last Waltz.
8.
Pops Staples appeared as himself in the 1997 Barry Levinson film Wag the Dog, singing "Good Old Shoe" with Willie Nelson.
9.
At the 4th Annual Grammy Awards for musical achievements in 1961, Pops Staples's album Swing Low was nominated in the Best Gospel or Other Religious Recording category.
10.
In 1998, Pops Staples received a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, which is the highest honor in the folk and traditional arts in the United States.
11.
In 2010, Pops Staples was honored with a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail in his hometown of Winona, Mississippi.
12.
In 2018, Pops Staples was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.