OXFORD, Miss. – Mavis Staples is more than a soul and gospel singer.
She’s a legend in contemporary music whose sound has influenced artists
from Bob Dylan to Prince, who dubbed her “the epitome of soul.”
Listen to “Down In Mississippi”
{audio}images/stories/audio/mavis/down?in?ms.mp3{/audio}
On Friday (Feb. 27), Staples brings her legendary voice to the Gertrude
C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Mississippi
for an “evening not to be missed,” said Norm Easterbrook, Ford Center
director.
“Without a doubt, Mavis Staples possesses one of the most recognizable
and treasured voices in music,” Easterbrook said. “From her raspy voice
in the ’70s hit ‘I’ll Take You There’ to her inspirational gospel tunes
of today, Staples is a bona fide soul and pop superstar.”
Staples’ upcoming performance is part of the Heritage Series, which “celebrates artists who have contributed to the musical heritage of the nation,” Easterbrook said.
Tickets to the 8 p.m. concert are $25 for general admission and available by visiting the UM Box Office in the Student Union, Ford Center Box Office or online at http://www.olemiss.edu/fordcenter/. Tickets also can be purchased by calling 662-915-7411.
From her early days of sharing lead vocals with her groundbreaking family group, The Staple Singers, to her powerful solo recordings, Mavis Staples is an inspirational force in modern popular culture and music.
A 40-year veteran of the music scene, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and one of VH1’s 100 Greatest Women of Rock and Roll, Staples is a rhythm and blues trailblazer who never relinquished her gospel roots.
Staples began her musical career in 1950, initially singing locally at churches with her family group. The Staples Singers scored a hit in 1956 with “Uncloudy Day” for the VeeJay label. After Staples graduated from high school in 1957, the group took their music on the road led by family patriarch Roebuck “Pops” Staples on guitar and Mavis and her siblings sharing vocals.
With Staples’ voice, The Staples Singers evolved from an enormously popular gospel group to become one of the country’s most influential spiritually based groups. By the mid-’60s, The Staple Singers, due to Pop Staples’ close friendship with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., became the spiritual and musical voices of the civil rights movement. The group hit the Top 40 eight times between 1971 and 1975.
Staples recorded her first solo album, “Mavis Staples,” for the famed Stax label in 1969. Her career continued though the 1980s. In 1984, she released the first of two albums under the direction of rock megastar Prince. Her 1993 album with Prince, “The Voice,” was named a Top 10 Album by People magazine. In 1996, Staples recorded “Spirituals & Gospels: A Tribute to Mahalia Jackson.”
Listen to “Eyes On The Prize”
{audio}images/stories/audio/mavis/mavisstaples-eyesonprize.mp3{/audio}
With her latest CD, “Will Never Turn Back (Anti/Epitaph),” Staples continues to build on a family tradition of joining gospel fervor with shades of soul and R&B.
The Heritage Series at the Ford Center continues March 9 with Arlo Guthrie and “The Lost World Tour.” Tickets are available at the UM Box Office and Ford Center Box Office.
For a complete list of events at the Ford Center, visit http://www.olemiss.edu/fordcenter/ . For assistance related to a disability, call 662-915-7411.