Mavis Staples celebrated a seventy-five year recording career with a massive group of her friends and colleagues in the industry, including Jeff Tweedy, Win Butler, and Reigne Chassagne.
Mavis Staples is an unabashed fan of the work of The Band, a four-fifths Canadian group that gained a following during the late sixties and early seventies. During a concert in Chicago that celebrated seventy-five years of her recording career, she chose to close out the show with a big group rendition of The Band’s most famous single, “The Weight.” Featuring several other well-known performers including Bonnie Raitt, Gregg Allman, and Emmylou Harris, Staples brought the house down with a soulful rendition of “The Weight” that was filled with as much enthusiasm as the rendition she gave with The Band in the filmed concert The Last Waltz.
The concert was given in celebration of career that began as a bit of a family affair many years ago. As a key vocal part of The Staples Singers and in her own solo career, Mavis Staples has covered hits from several renowned artists from Bob Dylan to Stephen Stills. The beauty of Mavis Staples is the willingness for her to give up the spotlight so that others may highlight the show. At many points during the performance of “The Weight,” Staples takes a step back vocally and allows other artists to toss in their vocal two cents.
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