She’ll Take You There: Mavis Staples

This past Monday, July 10th, Mavis Staples turned 67. If you’ve heard any of her recent recordings, you know that she still sounds amazing. This is in marked contrast to many of her few vocal peers–Tony Bennett, George Jones, Ralph Stanley, and of course Aretha Franklin–all of whom have clearly lost a step or three in their golden years. Mavis, however, may just be singing better than she ever has. For the woman who voiced the Staple Singers’ “I’ll Take You There,” this is no small compliment.

In honor of Mavis’ birthday, I’ve added to our Heroes page a lengthy feature I did on the singer a couple of years back for No Depression. I think it’s the most comprehensive take on her career ever published. At any rate, I’m pretty proud of the piece.

Near its end, I mention several of the one-off collaborations Staples has cut in the past several years, and so to prove my claim that she’s singing as well or maybe better than ever, I offer a few of my favorites below.

The duet with Mavis’ old, sometimes boyfriend Bob Dylan features the two engaged in a Jimmie Rodgers-meets-the Carter Family styled skit, with (I believe) Mavis’ sister Yvonne playing the roll of Dylan’s old lady. On the collaboration with Marty Stuart & His Superlatives (from, by the by, one of the best albums to come out of any genre this century), Mavis harmonizes in pure Staples Singers fashion while Marty picks her father Pop’s actual guitar.

On “Touch My Heart,” from the Robbie Fulks-produced Johnny Paycheck tribute (to which, full disclosure, I wrote the notes), Mavis is accompanied by the great pedal steel man Lloyd Green, who here channels a bit of the sacred steel style. “Pop’s Recipe,” a song to live by, is Mavis’ father’s biography set to music.

Mavis Staples with Bob Dylan “Gotta Change My Way of Thinking” from Gotta Serve Somebody: The Gospel Songs of Bob Dylan (Sony, 2003)

Mavis Staples with Los Lobos “Someday” from The Ride (Hollywood, 2004)

Mavis Staples with Marty Stuart “Move Along Train” from Soul’s Chapel (Universal South, 2005)

Mavis Staples “Touch My Heart” from Touch My Heart: A Tribute to Johnny Paycheck (Sugarhill, 2004)

Mavis Staples “Hard Times Come Again No More” from Beautiful Dreamer: The Songs of Stephen Foster (Emergent, 2004)

Mavis Staples “You Must Have That True Religion” from I Believe to My Soul, Vol. 1 (Rhino/WEA, 2005)

Mavis Staples “Pop’s Recipe” from Have a Little Faith (Alligator, 2004) 

Happy birthday, Mavis!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 12th, 2006 at 1:35 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

4 Responses to “She’ll Take You There: Mavis Staples”

  1. Charles Says:
    July 12th, 2006 at 2:59 pm

    Beautiful stuff…maybe it’s time for a Staples-related entry at Shot of Rhythm.

    Amazing that nobody’s written a book about them yet. I keep assuming Rob Bowman will, since he’s written their liner notes and such, but maybe we’re missing a golden opportunity…

  2. Barry Says:
    July 12th, 2006 at 8:55 pm

    That needs to be done–although Mavis may have considred doing a meoir..In any csae, it’s a story hat needs to be detailed.. Do it. I’ll read it!

  3. Ed Ward Says:
    July 13th, 2006 at 11:56 am

    Let’s not forget the Freelancers’ National Anthem, although I guess it was the whole group who recorded it: “When Will We Be Paid (For the Work We’ve Done)?”

  4. Steve Pick Says:
    July 15th, 2006 at 3:15 pm

    David,

    It’s always great to see Mavis getting her props. I’m especially glad you focused attention on the amazing work she’s done lately dropping in on tribute albums and guest-starring with other artists. I thought her solo album a couple years back was a major disappointment, especially in contrast to the stuff she’s done at the same time. (I would also add the great singing she does on the Dr. John album of 2005, the name of which escapes me right now.)

    One caveat, though. I think Mavis has lost a step or two compared to her youthful vocal range. Not that this is holding her back - she’s a smart enough singer to know how to compensate. I think that Irma Thomas, who is about her age, is probably the one singer who seems not to have lost anything as she’s grown older.

    Tony Bennett is an unfair comparison, as he’s at least ten years older than she is, and, when I last saw him, about ten years ago, he was still capable of projecting without a microphone so I could hear him at the back end of a 4500 seat auditiorium.

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