Born in Chicago in 1939, Mavis Staples began her career with her family group, the Staple Singers, in 1950. Initially singing locally at churches and appearing on a weekly radio show, the Staples scored a gigantic hit in 1956 with “Uncloudy Day” for the Vee-Jay label. Upon her high school graduation in 1957, the Staple Singers took their music on the road. Led by family patriarch Roebuck “Pops” Staples and including Mavis and siblings Cleo, Yvonne and Pervis, the Staples were often referred to as “God’s Greatest Hitmakers.”
