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Pervis Staples, whose tenor voice complemented his father’s and sisters’ in the legendary gospel group the Staple Singers, has died at his home outside Chicago.
Pervis Staples died May 6 at 85, according to Adam Ayers, a spokesman for Staples’ sister, Mavis Staples. The cause of death wasn’t announced.
Pervis Staples sang gospel songs with his father, the guitar-playing Roebuck “Pops” Staples, and sisters Mavis, Yvonne and Cleotha in Chicago churches before attracting 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.