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Mavis Staples began her career with her family group The Staple Sisters in 1950. Initially singing locally at churches and appearing on a weekly radio show, the Staples scored a hit in 1956 with 'Uncloudy Day' for the Vee-Jay label. In 1957 The Staple Singers took their music on the road led by family patriarch Roebuck "Pops" Staples on guitar and including vocals by Mavis and her siblings Cleotha, Yvonne, and Purvis.
They soon evolved from popular Gospel singers to become the most influential spirituality-based group in America. By the mid-1960s The Staple Singers, inspired by Roebuck's close friendship with Martin Luther King, Jr., became the spiritual and musical voices of the civil rights movement. The Staple Singers hit the Top 40 eight times between 1971 and 1975, including two No. 1 singles, 'I'll Take You There' and 'Let's Do It Again' and a No. 2 single 'Who Took the Merry Out of Christmas?'.
Mavis branched out from the group during their successful career to release solo recordings. Her first solo single while at Epic Records with The Staple Singers was 'Crying in the Chapel' which received moderate attention in the late 1960s. The single was later included in a collated album released in 1994 by Sony Music called 'Lost Soul'. Her first solo album came almost ten years later in 1969, she followed this self titled album in quick succession with 'Only for the Lonely' in 1970. A 1984 album (also self-titled) preceded two albums under the direction of rock star Prince; 1989's 'Time Waits for No One' and 1993's 'The Voice', which People magazine named one of the Top Ten Albums of 1993.
It’s not every day that you get the chance to see a living legend in concert, and when it happens, you know that you’re in the presence of something truly special. This is certainly the case for Mavis Staples, the legendary gospel soul singer and civil rights activist of the 1950s and ‘60s. For starters, it is an achievement in itself that Staples, at the age of 75, continues to tour, and what’s even more impressive is that her warmth, soul and incredible honey-poured-over-gravel voice are just as powerful as ever. Mavis began her musical career in her family band, The Staple Singers, who released their first hit, ‘Uncloudy Day’, way back in 1956. Since then, The Staples released politically-charged message songs like "Long Walk to D.C." and "When Will We Be Paid?," which brought their moving and articulate music to a huge number of young people. Mavis Staples’ solo work is equally as meaningful, upbeat and catchy, and in 2011 she won a ‘long-awaited’ Grammy Award for her soaring album ‘You Are Not Alone’. When I saw Staples performing as part of the awesome ZooTunes concert series at Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle, earlier this year, she set the place alight with her buoyant energy, soulful grooves, and more-powerful-than-ever lyrics. Accompanied by a full band and, of course, a gospel choir, Staples brought the house down for a feel-good, heartfelt show which emanated good vibes from beginning to end. Catch her while you still can!
louise_h
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