Mavis Staples

Musician

1939-07-10

Books by Mavis Staples

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My high-school a cappella teacher would embarrass me in front of the choir. 'Mavis, you're in the basement. Mavis, you're singing with the boys.' I said, 'Mr. Finch, my voice isn't soprano. I can't sing up there with the girls.' So I just got out of the choir.
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My purpose: to lift your spirit and to motivate you.
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I get my voice from my mother's side of the family. My mother and my grandmother both had strong voices.
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The kids today have these fresh faces. It's like they're on pins and needles, waiting to see what I'm going to do. They've never seen me. In the 1960s, those were hippies. They were wired up already. The kids today know me because I've worked with Jeff Tweedy and other young producers.
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Pops, he was a singer's singer. I loved to hear my father sing. He just was so laid-back and cool. I always wished I could sing like Pops.
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The best music of my life I heard at my grandmother's church, this little wooden church up on a hill.
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