Staples Jr. Singers (support from Toshín)

It sometimes happens that a stone cold classic from a bygone era gets rediscovered. But how often does that rediscovery happen when the band is still around? And how often does it lead to a new album? That’s the surprising circumstance behind the Staples Jr. Singers’ long-awaited second album, Searching (June 14).

Back in 1975, when the Staples Jr. Singers were just teenagers growing up in the small, rural town of Aberdeen, Mississippi, they got to make a single record together, one which, because of its rarity, became coveted by gospel soul collectors: When Do We Get Paid. They paid for the record themselves and pressed a few hundred copies, selling most of them on their front lawn to their neighbors.

Following Luaka Bop’s re-issue of When Do We Get Paid in 2022, the Staples Jr. Singers finally had their time in the sun: The Guardian called their album “Powerful,” The Boston Globe named it #7 Best Album of the Year, and UNCUT (8/10) said that it was “music that deserves your attention.” And to make the response all the better, the Staples Jrs. Singers were around to witness it.

Who are the Staples Jr. Singers, and why do they share a name with that other gospel group you might have heard of, the ones who famously crossed over?

The Jr. singers are the Browns, a family of ten who came of age in the ’60s in northeast Mississippi between the black prairie and the pines. Back then, the South was desegregated on paper but not always in practice. Their parents found refuge and support in the church against the backdrop of an unwelcoming town (and nation), while their kids found refuge and a greater purpose in life in the music.