Singer Yvonne Staples of the Staples Singers group died at the age of 80, according to reports.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Stapes, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999, died in Chicago.
THIS JUST IN: Yvonne Staples of Staples Singers siblings dies in Chicagohttps://t.co/MaByZ7PnUj pic.twitter.com/Dj1H2Y3UXa
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) April 10, 2018
She performed on hits that include “Respect Yourself,” “I’ll Take You There,” and “Heavy Makes You Happy.” The Staples Singers included her sisters Mavis and Cleotha as well as their father, Pops, who played the guitar. Between 1971 to 1975, the Staples Singers had eight Top 40 hits.
“That harmony is always going to be there,” singer Mavis Staples told Sun-Times in an interview, “because you all grew up together.”
Yvonne Staples, key member of Staple Singers, dies at 80 https://t.co/grlsUJXhNq pic.twitter.com/lj8q71ZOcf
— Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) April 10, 2018
Family friend Bill Carpenter said that Staples was a business-minded person who was “no nonsense but at the same time had a heart of gold,” The Associated Press reported.
The Staples Singers also got a lifetime achievement award from the Grammys in 2005.
Cleotha, the oldest of the Staples siblings, passed away in 2013. She was 78.
#MavisStaples on her sister Yvonne & the #StapleSingers: 'That harmony is always going to be there because you all grew up together.” RIP Yvonne, who has died in Chicago at 80. https://t.co/egVhMFY1WG @rockhall #soulmusic #wattstax #respectyourself #IllTakeYouThere via @suntimes
— Maureen O'Donnell (@suntimesobits) April 10, 2018
💦 Yvonne Staples of Staples Singers siblings dies at 80: Staples, who was inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame with her family in 1999, can be heard on classics like 'I'll Take You There.' https://t.co/a9jIoya5Q5 pic.twitter.com/1XIUNAye3b
— Leak Freek (@leakfreek) April 10, 2018
Pops Staples died in 2000.
Mavis Staples, 78, is the only remaining member of the group, and, according to the New York Daily News, she is slated to perform in Baton Rouge on Saturday, April 14.
Other details about Yvonne Staples’ death were not made immediately clear in reports on Tuesday.
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