Mavis Staples Career Highlights.

Mavis was born in the city of Chicago on the 10^th July 1939.

Mavis Staples and the Staple Singers started their recording careers at the locally-based black-owned legendary record label, Vee-Jay records, during the mid-1950s, as a Gospel recording act for the label. During that period they scored a major hit entitled “Uncloudy Day,” which is now a gospel classic.         

Mavis Staples has become the first African American female solo gospel artist from America to reach the number-one position on the Official UK Christian & Gospel Albums Chart on week-ending 6^th July 2013 (1 week), with her newly-released “One True Vine” album on Anti-Records.

                                
                                 

The song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 under the gospel category. The group had two more songs that were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, starting with “I’ll Take You There”, in 1999 under the R&B and Soul category, which was originally released on Stax Records in 1972. This was followed by “Respect Yourself”, also originally released on Stax Records in 1971 and inducted in 2002 under the R&B and Soul category. They were also inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame under the Performer category in 1999, presented by Lauryn Hill.

In 2010 her record company Anti- Records released an album called “You Are Not Alone” which was produced by Jeff Tweedy and won a Grammy Award in the Best Americana Album vocal or Instrumental category at the 53^rd Grammy Awards Ceremony. This was Mavis’s first Grammy Award as a solo artist.

Time Magazine described the album as "gorgeous", Spin Magazine described the album as "inspiring", with Rolling Stone listing Staples as one of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.

Mavis Staples has become the first African American female solo gospel artist from America to reach the number-one position on the Official UK Christian & Gospel Albums Chart on week-ending 6^th July 2013 (1 week), with her newly-released “One True Vine” album on Anti-Records. The album was recorded in her home town of Chicago.

Written, researched and compiled by
Music Historian Kevin Tomlin
©RCM Music/Signaturesoundsonline 2013