Mavis Staples: Our 2003 “Living Legends” Interview (HD Video)

Mavis on Her Upbringing, Family Band, and Inspirations

Mavis Staples and Jas Obrecht (photo by David Malcolm)

I conducted this Mavis Staples interview before a live audience at Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor on June 6, 2003. A delight to speak with, Mavis shares wonderful stories about her childhood, how her father Pops played guitar, the early years of the Staple Singers, their expansion from contemporary gospel into pop, her inspirations Rev. Thomas Dorsey and Dr. Martin Luther King, and other heartwarming subjects. She treats us to some a cappella singing.

For more on the Staple Singers, check out my Talking Guitar podcast with Pops Staples: Pops Staples Interview: Gospel, Blues, and Social Justice (Audio)

Thanks to Mike Kappus, Bill Abernethy, and John E. Lawrence for their assistance in facilitating this interview, and to Nik Hunt for his fine engineering and producing.

ⓒ Jas Obrecht 2023. All rights reserved.