Mavis Staples

Mavis Staples
Mavis Staples
	Staples performing at Chicago Blues Festival in 2012
Background information
Born	July 10, 1939 (age 84); Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Genres	R&B; soul; gospel;
Occupation(s)	Singer; activist;
Years active	1950–present
Labels	Epic; Stax/Volt; Curtom; Alligator; Anti-; Paisley Park/Warner Bros.; Verve; ANTI-;
Website	mavisstaples.com

Mavis Staples (born July 10, 1939) is an American rhythm and blues and gospel singer and civil rights activist. She rose to fame as a member of her family's band The Staple Singers, of which she is the last surviving member. During her time in the group, she recorded the hit singles "I'll Take You There" and "Let's Do It Again".^[1] In 1969, Staples released her self-titled debut solo album.

Staples continued to release solo albums throughout the following decades and collaborated with artists such as Aretha Franklin, Prince, Arcade Fire, Nona Hendryx, Ry Cooder, and David Byrne.^[2] Her eighth studio album You Are Not Alone (2010), earned critical acclaim,^[3] and became her first album as a soloist to reach number one on a Billboard chart, peaking atop the Top Gospel Albums chart.^[4] It also earned Staples her first Grammy Award win.^[5] Following this, she released the albums One True Vine (2013), Livin' on a High Note (2016), If All I Was Was Black (2017), and We Get By (2019); she is also featured on the single "Nina Cried Power" by Hozier.

Staples is the recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and has won three Grammy Awards, including one for Album of the Year as a featured artist on We Are by Jon Batiste.^[6] Named one of the '100 Greatest Singers of all Time' by Rolling Stone in 2008; Staples was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999, and in the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2018,^[7] as a member of The Staple Singers. Additionally, she was made a Kennedy Center Honoree in 2016. The following year, she was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame as a soloist.^[8] In 2019, she received the inaugural Rock Hall Honors Award from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a soloist.^[9]

^ Price, Deborah Evans (October 23, 2004). "Mavis Staples Prevails With a Little 'Faith'". Billboard. Vol. 116, no. 43. p. 17. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
^ Remnick, David (June 27, 2022). "The Gospel According to Mavis Staples". The New Yorker. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
^ "You Are Not Alone by Mavis Staples". Metacritic. September 14, 2010. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
^ "Mavis Staples: Chart History". Billboard. n.d. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
^ "Mavis Staples Wins Grammy For Best Americana Album". anti.com. February 14, 2011. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
^ "Artist: Mavis Staples". www.grammy.com. Recording Academy. 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
^ "The Staples Singers: 2018 Inductees". Gospel Music Hall of Fame. March 12, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
^ "Blues Hall of Fame: Inductions". Blues.org. Blues Foundation. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
^ Yarborough, Chuck (September 22, 2019). "Rock & Roll Hall of Fame exhibit pays tribute to Mavis Staples, the first Rock Hall Honors recipient". cleveland.com. Retrieved July 8, 2022.