Mavis Staples
As a member of her family group The Staple Singers and as a solo artist, Mavis Staples has used her huge voice to power the Civil Rights Movement and inspire generations. Jim and Greg revisit their intimate discussion of her life and career as the gospel and soul legend approaches 80 years old.
Mavis Staples
It's not often we get to share a room with a genuine national treasure. Jim and Greg were honored to speak with gospel and soul legend and Civil Rights icon Mavis Staples. (Greg is also the author of Mavis's 2014 biography I’ll Take You There.) Beginning her career at age eleven as the lead singer of her family band The Staple Singers, Mavis has inspired countless artists over the past half century.
Her father Pops Staples learned guitar at the feet of Charley Patton in Dockery Farms, Mississippi before moving to Chicago. There, he formed The Staple Singers, a gospel vocal group featuring his children – Pervis, Cleotha, Yvonne, and Mavis taking the lead. The combination of Pops's blues guitar, Cleotha's counterpoint, and Mavis's precociously powerful voice launched them into national attention with their 1956 hit "Uncloudy Day." Soon, the Staple Singers were at the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement, often serving as the opening act to Martin Luther King, Jr. (We cover that period in more detail in a second episode with Mavis).
The group had its greatest success once it signed to Stax Records and began recording with the famed session musicians in Muscle Shoals, Alabama on hits like "I’ll Take You There." That's also when Mavis began her solo career – reluctantly at first, but still going as strong as ever today. Her latest album Livin’ on a High Note found her working with songwriters like Nick Cave, tUnE-yArDs, and Neko Case. Mavis offers Jim and Greg an intimate look at growing up on Chicago's South Side, forming the Staple Singers' signature sound, meeting Mahalia Jackson, and collaborating with Curtis Mayfield and Prince.
Featured Songs
- Mavis Staples, "Anytime," We Get By, Anti-, 2019
- The Staple Singers, "Pop's Instrumental," Soul Folk in Action, Stax, 1968
- The Staple Singers, "Will the Circle Be Unbroken," Will the Circle Be Unbroken?, Vee Jay, 1960
- Charley Patton, "It Won't Be Long Now," Down the Dirt Road Blues (single), Paramount, 1929
- The Staple Singers, "Swing Low," Swing Low, Vee Jay, 1961
- The Staple Singers, "I'm Coming Home," Let Me Ride (single), Vee Jay, 1957
- Mahalia Jackson, "Move On Up a Little Higher," Move On Up a Little Higher (single), Apollo, 1947
- The Staple Singers, "God's Wonderful Love," If I Could Hear My Mother (single), Vee Jay, 1956
- The Staple Singers, "Uncloudy Day," Uncloudy Day (single), Vee Jay, 1956
- The Staple Singers, "Gloryland," Hammer and Nails, Riverside, 1962
- The Staple Singers, "Got to Be Some Changes Made," Soul Folk in Action, Stax, 1968
- The Staple Singers, "Heavy Makes You Happy (Sha-Na-Boom-Boom)," The Staple Swingers, Stax, 1971
- The Staple Singers, "I'll Take You There," Be Altitude: Respect Yourself, Stax, 1971
- The Staple Singers, "Oh La De Da," Wattstax: The Living Word, Stax, 1972
- Creedence Clearwater Revival, "Born on the Bayou," Bayou Country, Fantasy, 1969
- The Staple Singers, "Sit Down Servant," Swing Low, Vee Jay, 1961
- The Staple Singers, "Everyday People," We'll Get Over, Stax, 1969
- The Staple Singers, "Let's Do It Again," Let's Do It Again, Curtom, 1975
- Curtis Mayfield, "Move On Up," Curtis, Curtom, 1970
- The Spaniels, "Baby It's You," Baby It's You, Chance, 1953
- The Highway QC's, "Somewhere to Lay My Head," Somewhere to Lay My Head (single), Vee Jay, 1955
- The Staple Singers, "Back Road into Town," City in the Sky, Stax, 1974
- Mavis Staples, "A House Is Not a Home," Mavis Staples, Volt, 1969
- Mavis Staples, "This Little Light," Live: Hope At The Hideout, Anti-, 2008
- The Staple Singers, "Crying in the Chapel," What The World Needs Now Is Love, Epic, 1968
- Mavis Staples, "Tomorrow," Livin' on a High Note, Anti-, 2016
- Mavis Staples, "Action," Livin' on a High Note, Anti-, 2016
- Mavis Staples, "Losing You," You Are Not Alone, Anti-, 2010
- Mavis Staples, "I Have Learned to Do Without You," Only for the Lonely, Volt, 1970
- Prince, "Graffiti Bridge," Graffiti Bridge, Paisley Park, 1990
- Mavis Staples, "Blood is Thicker Than Time," The Voice, Paisley Park, 1993
- The Staple Singers, "This World," Be Altitude: Respect Yourself, Stax, 1971
- Ciara, "Pick Up the Phone," Goodies, BMG, 2004
- The National, "You Had Your Soul with You," I Am Easy to Find, 4AD, 2019
- Snapped Ankles, "Three Steps to a Development," Stunning Luxury, The Leaf, 2019
- Taylor Scott Band, "Somebody Told Me," All We Have, Self-released, 2019
- Neckbeard Deathcamp, "Incel Warfare," White Nationalism Is for Basement Dwelling Losers, Self-released, 2018
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