Biography

July 10, 1939 · Chicago, Illinois, USA

Member of the R&B group The The Staple Singers.

Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999 (as a member of the The Staple Singers).

Ranked #57 on VH1's 100 Greatest Women of Rock N Roll

Daughter of Roebuck 'Pops' Staples

Friends with Aretha Franklin.

We can't get off the stage without singing 'The Weight'. How many times have we sang 'I'll Take You There'? If you leave without singing it, people will just keep clapping until you do.

My grandmother gave me switches because I was singing the blues in school when I was six years old. She got one of my legs, and every lick she said,'You.Don't.Sing.Blues.In.This.Family.You.Sing.Church.Songs.

[observation, 2017] I've been doing this since 1960. When we met Dr. King in church, my father told us if he can preach it, we can sing it. We've been singing the message-songs ever since. Every year people tell me, "Mavis, my goodness, when are you going to retire?" I'm almost eighty years old. But I'm not ready to retire. This is what God wants me to do. My voice is as strong as ever.