If artists are described as legendary they are often either dead or an excitable journalist couldn’t find a better adjective.
And then there are artists like Mavis Staples.
Together with her father, Roebuck “Pops” Stables and her sisters Cleotha, Pervis and Yvonne, she delivered the soundtrack to the burgeoning civil rights movement in the United States in the ’60s and ’70s as the Staple Singers.
As a 24-year-old she and her family were with Martin Luther King in Washington at the 1963 Freedom March and they always understood their songs were part of the movement.
“I really liked the Dr King,” the 73-year old says on the phone from her hometown Chicago.
“He would always tell me ‘You’ve got to sing’.”
Looking back at the fight she and her contemporaries fought, she says she’s now disappointed by how much young people in America take the status quo for granted.
“I can’t blame the children, but my age bracket, we fought for freedom and the younger generation just didn’t follow through,” she says.
“And then you got the schools where black history isn’t properly taught. We knew we were doing something important, and today these songs are still relevant.
“Dr King told me, and my father told me: ‘Let it be known’ and I am still preaching,” she says.
Apart from recording and performing, Staples is also visiting schools to tell the young generation of their fight and lends her voice to political issues like Jon Stewart’s and Stephen Colbert’s 2010 Rally to Restore Sanity/Fear.
“These are difficult times, and people are hurting and I want them to know that they are not alone,” she says.
And she did manage to get that message out.
Two years ago the then-71-year-old singer won her first Grammy award for Best Americana Album with You Are Not Alone.
“I could hardly walk up to the stage, I was just crying,” she says about finally receiving one of music’s greatest honours.
“It was an indescribable feeling – I was so surprised.”
But life has not always been easy.
Even as a small girl she had this deep, booming voice that set her apart.
“The other children in school always taunted me and told me ‘you sound like a boy’ and I would come home crying,” Staples remembers.
“And even my teacher, he would stop the whole choir because I was singing so deep. And I just tried to explain, that I was just no soprano.
“I was different, and I think that made me strong.”
Her father started the family group when Mavis, the youngest of his four daughters was eight years old and she performed first at their local church at the age of 10.
Soon she became the lead singer, with this voice that didn’t seem to belong into this small body.
In the ’50s the Staple Singers had their first hits and radio DJs couldn’t believe that this big voice was coming from this skinny knuckle-kneed 15-year-old girl.
And at an age where others are enjoying their earned retirement, she’s not planning to retire this booming voice any time soon.
Stables has just finished her second collaboration with Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, who has also produced her Grammy-winning album
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Tweedy, also from Chicago approached her after a show where she played her Freedom songs some years ago. They soon bonded over her music, which he had grown up with and their dedication to family.
“Family is the strongest bond in the world and we clicked over that,” Stables said.
“He’s a good producer and he’s got a personality-plus. His music is so different, and Wilco, they always remind me on The Band – I just love them.
For her upcoming album he has written three songs, and she can’t wait for the release in June. But for now she’s looking forward to touring with Wilco.
She says she will play some of the newer songs and some of the old ones, like one of her family band’s first hits Why (Am I Treated so Bad.)
“I want the world to know, it’s my life, I can’t let go,” she says.
“There’s so much more work to be done. The Lord is keeping me to let the world know. When I go out on stage I am still singing from my heart.
“And I will do it until he calls me.”
DETAILS:
Wilco with Marvis Staples April 5, Wellington Town Hall April 6, Auckland Town Hall.
