Happy Father's Day to all who celebrate! The musical Dad on my mind today is Pops Staples. Recently, I discovered a gorgeous version of one of my all-time favourite songs, Laura Nyro's "Stoned Soul Picnic", by the Staple Singers. They apparently recorded it in the 1960s, but their lovely version was not released commercially until 2012, on a tribute album to the late great Laura. I still love the mega-hit version by The Fifth Dimension, and of course Laura's own recording, but The Staple Singers take the song to a new level. For me, Pops' guitar brings such warmth that you can just imagine yourself at that picnic on a gorgeous summer day, as this Father's Day has turned out to be. As an older musician in a youth-obsessed business, the trajectory of Pops' lengthy career inspires me. He was in his fifties and sixties when The Staple Singers experienced their greatest chart successes with songs like "Respect Yourself", "I'll Take You There" and "Let's Do it Again". All of these songs were written by others, but Pops was an accomplished songwriter himself, winning a Grammy in his 80s for an album that contained both traditional gospel songs and the self-penned classic "Why Am I Treated So Bad". Indeed, Pops experienced some Nyroesque chart success with that particular tune in 1967, when versions by 4 different artists (including The Staple Singers) hit the Hot 100! For all of his immense musical legacy, perhaps Pops' greatest accomplishment was being a great role model for his children. As daughter Mavis wrote after his passing, "I still loved to sing, but what could I sing without Daddy? You've been singing with your father for over 50 years, and now he's gone". Participating in a tribute concert to her father helped Mavis resume making music, and I suspect that Roebuck Staples would be VERY proud of his daughter's illustrious solo career. Obviously, longevity and musical genius were passed from dad to daughter. So what better soundtrack for Father's Day than some music by Pops, Mavis, and her sisters?