We got work to do

June 11, 2019 2:20 PM

Mavis Staples turns 80 on July 10, 2019. She's on a birthday tour, and in May she released her 12th studio album entitled We Get By (Bandcamp, and full album stream from ANTI- records on Youtube). WTF with Marc Maron interview (June 10, 2019 - interview starts at 14:55).

Mavis Staples ft. Ben Harper - We Get By (Jimmy Kimmel)

Mavis Staples - "No Time For Cryin'" (Live in London 2018)

Mavis Staples - Live In London (Full album stream from ANTI- records)

Mavis Staples previously:

If All I Was Was Black

The whole world is wondering: what's wrong with the United States?

That’s the best thing. Do what you feel.

The Staples Singers - I'll Take You There

Mavis Staples, Nick Lowe, and Wilco - "The Weight"

posted by mandolin conspiracy (22 comments total)

My wife and I recently saw Mavis Staples at our first casino concert, and she was fantastic! Great music with uplifting messages and calls to action.

And thanks for this post! Good collection of links and materials!
posted by filthy light thief at 2:49 PM on June 11, 2019 [4 favorites]

Added to favorites with joy and appreciation--thank you for this! She is an American treasure.

Mavis Staples 80th Birthday ! Apollo theater NYC May 9th 2019 Change (w/Jason Isbell)
posted by MonkeyToes at 2:54 PM on June 11, 2019 [1 favorite]

Mavis Staples is wonderful. The new recordings don't really do it for me, but I recently spent time with a boxed set of their 50s and early 60s gospel recordings and it is really so good.

My favorites are Uncloudy Day, which I believe caused Bob Dylan to propose marriage to Mavis, and This May Be The Last Time, which the Stones stole.
posted by vunder at 3:05 PM on June 11, 2019 [2 favorites]

I also saw her recently at the Ace Hotel in DTLA for her 80th birthday mini tour. She is a perfect delight! It was also like her own talent show, just cycling people on to the stage for one song until they all came back for the last song (The Weight). My very favorite moment was when she was hitting Trombone Shorty as he was holding a note forever and yelling "Shorty! Shorty!" Man, what a kick she is.

Also, I think it was more the subject than the town, but i haven't seen such a respectful audience in a long time.
posted by Duffington at 3:22 PM on June 11, 2019 [2 favorites]

And one more: Gorillaz, "Let Me Out," featuring Mavis Staples. I love the way she sings in community with others, no matter the genre.
posted by MonkeyToes at 3:24 PM on June 11, 2019 [4 favorites]

She is so great live! I briefly knew someone who worked with her who said she’s just as wonderful and genuine as you’d think (and yes to the story of Dylan proposing to her).
posted by sallybrown at 3:26 PM on June 11, 2019 [1 favorite]

Oh man, the first time I heard the Staple Singers, I got the chills. Thanks for posting; this is just the thing to take the sting out of losing Dr. John recently.
posted by not_on_display at 3:43 PM on June 11, 2019 [2 favorites]

Let me blow your minds a little bit.

Here are The Staple Singers' first extant recordings, from September 1953. They may have done a couple of sides earlier than this, but they don't appear to have survived. These were on 78s! And Mavis was 14 when they were recorded.
posted by droplet at 4:35 PM on June 11, 2019 [7 favorites]

The You Are Not Alone album genuinely helped me process one of the most crushing heartbreaks I've ever experienced in my life (luckily, that person and I are now happily married!), and I will always be grateful to her for recording an album that spoke so closely to my worldly condition at that time. I really hope I get to see her in concert while she's still around.
posted by mostly vowels at 6:05 PM on June 11, 2019 [1 favorite]

Her side musicians, modulo the famous, are often the cream of hungry young relatively unknowns. That's about as real as popular music gets.
posted by Chitownfats at 6:46 PM on June 11, 2019

Here's the list of her upcoming tour. Maybe she's playing someplace close to you, if you want to see her.
posted by hippybear at 7:16 PM on June 11, 2019 [1 favorite]

The documentary Mavis! remains excellent and worth your time as well. Truly, a national treasure. I really need to see her perform.
posted by hijinx at 7:22 PM on June 11, 2019 [3 favorites]

I'm gonna n^th the recommendation to go see her if she's playing in a town near you. I saw Mavis a few years ago and I swear she had more energy than most of the audience. There was a stool on stage, but I only saw her use it once. And it was not a short concert (can't remember if there was an intermission or not).

I mean, if she had sat the whole concert I wouldn't have complained either. But it just drove home to me how much of a force Mavis is. And wow, what a performance it was. I look forward to diving into more of these links
posted by timelord at 7:56 PM on June 11, 2019 [2 favorites]

The WTF podcast episode with Mavis is worth a listen especially for her Bob Dylan
impersonation
posted by JimSchu at 8:07 PM on June 11, 2019 [6 favorites]

That version of The Weight with Nick Lowe and Wilco is probably my favourite ever cover, it's so good.
posted by terretu at 12:45 AM on June 12, 2019

Don’t forget Nina Cried Power by Hozier featuring Mavis. Goosebumps inducing song.
posted by domo at 8:00 AM on June 12, 2019

Great Maron interview- she radiates joy, even after a harrowing tale of racism in action in the late 60's. I smiled so much listening to her!
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 8:08 AM on June 12, 2019 [1 favorite]

It was also like her own talent show, just cycling people on to the stage

Was that the show that Jason Isbell and others played with her?
posted by wolpfack at 10:18 AM on June 12, 2019 [1 favorite]

Was that the show that Jason Isbell and others played with her?

Yes! and many more!
but even before she got on stage, the openers were all just unknowns (to me) who did one song and then ceded the stage to the next person.
posted by Duffington at 12:23 PM on June 12, 2019

Got my tickets last week. Dr John's passing was a sobering reminder to see these legends while I can. I've missed out on so many...
posted by sapere aude at 1:49 PM on June 12, 2019 [1 favorite]

Dr John's passing was a sobering reminder to see these legends while I can. I've missed out on so many...

John Lee Hooker was playing a city I lived in and I tried for a month to get someone to go to the show with me. Nobody was interested and I ended up not going to the show. 3 weeks later, he was dead.

That was sort of my wake-up call. Go to the shows. Go alone if necessary. Don't miss 'em if you want to see 'em because they may not be back around.
posted by hippybear at 6:08 PM on June 12, 2019 [1 favorite]

Staples Singers with The Band, from Last Waltz: The Weight

Staples Singers, Live, 1973: Respect Yourself
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:58 PM on June 12, 2019 [2 favorites]