Tribute To Mavis Staples and The Staple Singers - Articles

Tribute To Mavis Staples and The Staple Singers

Mavis Staples —the mention of her name brings instant aural recollections, whether it's her unbelievably soulful, raspy delivery as the youngest member of The Staple Singers, or whether it's that same unforgettable voice in one of her several solo performances subsequent to her departure from the famed family Gospel group.

The Grammy Awards chose to honor The Staple Singers with The Recording Academy Lifetime The Staples Singers

Achievement Award during the February 2005 annual awards ceremony, and fittingly so. Rarely has a voice come along that so instantly generates recognition for its richness and power, in addition to Staples' masterful phrasing and ability to color and texture her sound.

Born in Chicago a few years after her parents, Roebuck ("Pops") and Oceola Staples moved there from Mississippi, Mavis grew up in very musical surroundings, and joined the family group (then known as The Staples Singers —with that 's' on the surname) beginning in 1948, as the quartet made church appearances, generating fame with their uniquely Southern-influenced quartet sound, melded to Pops expert, blues-inflected guitar picking.

Mavis began handling the bass vocal parts (!!) at the age of 7, and then moved into her now-recognized contralto sound. In 1957, the group hit it big with "Uncloudy Day", on a Vee Jay recording, soon followed by equally massive hits such as "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" and "Help Me, Jesus".

The Staples Singers

In the 1960's, The Staple Singers began to introduce their "message music", merging fok influences with civil rights themed songs, capturing even greater audiences. Now signed to the renowned Stax Records, the group hit it big with songs such as "Freedom Highway". Pops Staples' guitar work continued to distinguish the group's sound, cemented by the tight family harmonies, and again, with Mavis Staples' wonderfully soulful vocals, which always tapped into an emotional well that seemingly never went dry.

In the early 1970's, the hit single "Respect Yourself" hit the nation, with "Touch A Hand" and "I'll Take You There" to follow. The audio-video of "Respect Yourself" is captured on the recently issued Wattstax Documentary DVD. Widely referred to as the African-American Woodstock, the massive musical event was held in 1972 at the Los Angeles Coliseum, and had over 100,000 people come through the gates to hear such artists (all on Stax Records) as Isaac Hayes, Albert King, The Bar-Kays, The Rance Allen Group —and The Staples Singers. This is must-see viewing, for the capture of The Staples Singers and The Rance Allen Group (performing "Lying On The Truth"), if not for the others.

Mavis Staples recorded her first solo project, self-titled, for Volt (an imprint of Stax), in 1969. From there, she moved to labels such as Warner, and in the 1980s, famously worked with Prince, who produced her album, The Voice.

Today, Staples is still going strong, releasing commendable albums, such as her 2004 project for Alligator Records, titled Have A Little Faith (see album review).

Kudos to Mavis Staples and The Staple Singers for meriting The Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award!!

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— interview by Stan North —