The Staple Singers were an American gospel group that found mainstream success throughout the 1960's and 70's. Under the patriarchy of Pops Staples, the southern rhythm and blues band consisted of Pops and his three children, Cleotha, Mavis and Pervis, who began performing in front of a church audience. With Pops and Mavis on vocals, they delivered Southern spirituality with soul and strength, and were signed by Riverside and then Epic, two of the leading labels of the day. After jumping briefly onto the white folk train in the late 60's, the Staples really found their sound after signing with Memphis-based Stax Records. Their contemporary gospel was accessible to commercial audiences and two of their albums under Stax, "Soul Folk in Action" and "We'll Get Over" were backed by house musicians Booker T and the MG's. Twelve hits later, Curtis Mayfield lured the Staple Singers to his Curtom label and derived from them a number one hit in "Let's Do It Again." By the time the 80's rang in, the Staples were losing steam, although they interestingly covered Talking Heads "Slippery People" in 1984. While they have been periodically visible throughout the last few decades, the family musicians dissolved with the death of Pops in 2000.