One of the soul/gospel greats, Mavis Staples scored big in the late-60s/early-70s as the lead singer of the socially conscious, Stax-signed family band The Staples Singers (think of the sublime vocals on I’ll Take You There and Respect Yourself – that’s Mavis), then went on to have an illustrious solo career that so far has seen her release 14 albums, including the tellingly titled The Voice for Prince’s Paisley Park Records in 1993.
The Staples Singers played Glastonbury way back in 1984. Twenty-six years later, Mavis popped into Later… in 2010 to have a chat with Jools and she makes her her debut solo Glastonbury peformance amid a new swath of deserved recognition. Amazingly, it took until 2011 for her to win a Grammy, and she’s also the subject of a new documentary, Mavis, which premiered at the South by Southwest festival in March. In the hands of new talents like Sam Smith, soul/gospel music is red-hot again - this is how it’s done by someone who was there at its birth.
One of the soul/gospel greats, Mavis Staples scored big in the late-60s/early-70s as the lead singer of the socially conscious, Stax-signed family band The Staples Singers (think of the sublime vocals on I’ll Take You There and Respect Yourself – that’s Mavis), then went on to have an illustrious solo career that so far has seen her release 14 albums, including the tellingly titled The Voice for Prince’s Paisley Park Records in 1993.
The Staples Singers played Glastonbury way back in 1984. Twenty-six years later, Mavis popped into Later… in 2010 to have a chat with Jools and she makes her her debut solo Glastonbury peformance amid a new swath of deserved recognition. Amazingly, it took until 2011 for her to win a Grammy, and she’s also the subject of a new documentary, Mavis, which premiered at the South by Southwest festival in March. In the hands of new talents like Sam Smith, soul/gospel music is red-hot again - this is how it’s done by someone who was there at its birth.
