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Saturday, March 21
Massey Hall
$69.50 - $49.50
Call 416-872-4255 or online at www.masseyhall.com
or visit the Roy Thomson Hall Box Office
Recently named in the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time" list
by Rolling Stone magazine, soul and gospel legend Mavis Staples
possesses one of the most recognizable and treasured voices in
contemporary music. From her early days 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. Her last appearance
at Massey Hall was with the Blind Boys of Alabama in December of
2004. This concert marks the debut of James Hunter.
A 40-year-plus 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 (both with The Staple Singers and on her
own) is responsible for blazing a rhythm & blues trail while
never relinquishing her gospel roots. Her voice has influenced
artists from Bob Dylan to Prince (who dubbed her "the epitome of
soul") and she has appeared with everyone from the Reverend Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. to Bill Cosby, Presidents Kennedy,
Carter, and Clinton, to Janis Joplin, Pink Floyd, Santana and
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and has recorded with Bob Dylan,
Los Lobos, Aretha Franklin, Marty Stuart and many others.
Mavis began her career with her family group in 1950. Initially
singing locally at churches and appearing on a weekly radio
show, the Staples' scored a hit in 1956 with "Uncloudy Day" for
the VeeJay label. The Staples evolved from enormously popular
gospel singers to become the most spectacular and influential
spiritually-based group in US. By the mid-1960's The Staple
Singers became the spiritual and musical voices of the civil
rights movement. They covered contemporary pop hits with
positive messages, including Bob Dylan's "A Hard Rain's Gonna
Fall" and a version of Stephen Stills' "For What It's Worth."
Mavis Staples recorded her first solo album, Mavis Staples
for the famed Stax label in 1969. After another Stax release,
Only For the Lonely, in 1970, she released a soundtrack
album, A Piece of the Action, on Curtis Mayfield's Curtom
label. A 1984 album (also self-titled) preceded two albums under
the direction of rock megastar Prince; 1989's Time Waits For
No One, followed by 1993's The Voice, which People
magazine named to its Top Ten Albums of 1993. Her most recent
release, 1996's Spirituals & Gospels: A Tribute to Mahalia
Jackson recorded with keyboardist Lucky Peterson, is a
moving song cycle honoring Jackson, a very close family friend
and a huge influence on Mavis' life.
During her career Staples has appeared in many films and
television shows, including The Last Waltz, Graffiti
Bridge, Wattstax, New York Undercover, Soul
Train, Soul to Soul and The Cosby Show. Her
voice has been sampled by some of the biggest selling hip-hop
artists, including Salt 'N' Pepa, Ice Cube and Ludacris. Mavis
has recorded with a wide variety of musicians, from her close
friend Bob Dylan (with whom she as nominated for a 2003 Grammy
Award in the "Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals" category for
their duet on "Gotta Change My Way Of Thinking" from the album
Gotta Serve Somebody: The Gospel Songs of Bob Dylan) to
The Band, Ray Charles, Nona Hendryx, George Jones, Natalie
Merchant, Ann Peebles, Delbert McClinton and many others. She
has provided vocals on current albums by Los Lobos and Dr. John,
and she appears on recent tribute albums to Johnny Paycheck,
Stephen Foster and Bob Dylan.
For information on James Hunter, please visit
www.jameshuntermusic.com.
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