Cleotha Staples

Chicago (AP)-In a family of vocalists, it was Cleotha Staples’ smooth and velvety
voice that helped set apart the sound of the influential and best-selling gospel
group The Staple Singers.

Staples, the eldest sister and member of the group her father Roebuck "Pops"
Staples started in the 1940s, died Thursday at age 78. She was at her Chicago
home and had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for the past decade, said
family friend and music publicist Bill Carpenter.

The group included sisters Pervis, Yvonne, Mavis and Cynthia, but Cleotha was
the backbone, defining herself by being the "strong, silent type," said Carpenter,
author of "Uncloudy Day: The Gospel Music Encyclopedia."

1973

Jimmy Lee Swaggart will be 78 on March 15. He is the cousin
of rock’n’roll pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis and country music star
Mickey Gilley.

Celebrating in the street,  New Orleans, LA (c 1900)

George Beverly "Bev" Shea is considered to be "the first
international singing ‘star’ of the gospel world," as a result
of his solo performances at Billy Graham Crusades.

God bless you on your 104th birthday, you are special!

(Fox News) – A California book repairer reportedly knew something was unusual
when she opened up an old Bible found last week amid thousands of materials
donated to the Friends of the Sacramento Public Library.

The Bible was signed by 30 players and manager Fred Haney from the 1953
Pittsburgh Pirates and was given to general manager Rickey, who was best
known for breaking Major League Baseball’s color barrier by signing Jackie
Robinson six years earlier when he ran the Brooklyn Dodgers.

The restored Bible could fetch as much as $800 according to collectors of
baseball memorabilia.