CHICAGO – Pervis Staples, whose tenor voice complimented his father’s and sisters’ in the legendary gospel group The Staple Singers, has died, a spokesman announced Wednesday.
He was 85. Pervis Staples died May 6 at his home in Dolton, Illinois, according to Adam Ayers, a spokesman for Staples' sister, Mavis Staples.
The cause of death wasn’t given. Pervis Staples sang gospel songs with his father, the guitar-playing Roebuck "Pops” Staples, and sisters Mavis, Yvonne and Cleotha in Chicago churches before gaining a national following when they began recording songs such as “So Soon,” “If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again,” “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” and “Uncloudy Day” for Vee Jay records in the 1950s.