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The Staple Singers

Early R&B

Soul music

Gospel

Few singing families are more revered than the Staple Singers, whose music is rooted in the church but has gone far beyond to influence many other musicians from different genres. Under the tutelage of their legendary patriarch Pops Staples, they first began appearing in Chicago churches in 1948 and began their recording career with a series of acoustic, gospel-driven recordings for a variety of labels from 1952. However, it was after being signed to mainstream label Epic in 1965 that they gained a broader following with poppier tracks like Why (Am I Treated So Bad) and For What ...