Staples, Cleo (1934–)
Staples, Cleo (1934–)
African-American singer. Name variations: The Staple Singers, The Staples. Born 1934 in Mississippi; dau. of Roebuck "Pops" Staples (singer) and Oceola Staples (singer); sister of Mavis, Yvonne, and Pervis Staples (all singers).
With family, began singing at early age and recorded gospel, then pop music, and appeared in documentaries, Soul to Soul (1971), Wattstax (1973) and The Last Waltz (1978); found success with album, Bealtitude: Respect Yourself (1972); hits included "Respect Yourself" and "I'll Take You There," both of which went gold, and "If You're Ready (Come Go With Me)," which became #1 R&B hit (1973); had number 1 R&B and pop hit with title track from film, Let's Do It Again, which also contained their hit, "New Orleans" (1974); with group, adopted name The Staples and released Top-20 singles, "Love Me, Love Me, Love Me" (1976) and "Unlock Your Mind" (1978); other albums include Turning Point (1984), Freedom Highway (1991), and Uncloudy Day (2004). Inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1999).