Mavis Staples

Mavis Staples (born July 10, 1939) is an American rhythm and blues and gospel singer and civil rights activist. Named one of the "Greatest Singers of all Time" by Rolling Stone, 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". In 1969, Staples released her self-titled debut solo album.

Staples continued to release solo albums throughout the following decades and collaborated with peers such as Aretha Franklin, Prince, Arcade Fire, Nona Hendryx, Ry Cooder, David Byrne, and former romantic partner Bob Dylan. Her eighth studio album You Are Not Alone (2010), earned critical acclaim, and became her first album as a soloist to reach number one on a Billboard chart, peaking atop the Top Gospel Albums chart. It also earned Staples her first Grammy Award win. 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). Over the years, Staples collaborated with modern artists such as Hozier on the single "Nina Cried Power", and Jon Batiste on the We Are track "Mavis", which earned her a Grammy Award for Album of the Year, as a featured artist.

As member of the Staple Singers, Staples is the recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as an inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1999) and the Gospel Music Hall of Fame (2018). As a solo artist, she has won five solo Grammy Awards, and was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame as a soloist. In 2016, she was made a Kennedy Center Honoree. In 2019, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honored her with their inaugural Rock Hall Honors Award for her career.