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Mavis Staples, 78, is a Grammy-winning singer who had 16 Billboard pop hits with her family’s group, the Staple Singers. Her latest solo album is “If All I Was Was Black” (Anti-). She spoke with Marc Myers.

When I was 5, I swallowed a tack. My father was putting up a bathroom towel rack and there were tacks on the floor. I put a couple in my mouth. My Aunt Katie later said I started pointing at my mouth and throat.

At…