Mavis Staples

MAVIS STAPLES

Grim days call for fierce love. And Mavis Staples, one of the most enduring figures in American music, is laying it down. Sad and Beautiful World is the fifteenth solo album from a national treasure and multigenerational talent. On her new record, Mavis stands side by side with us in the face of dangers she knows all too well, at a time when more and more people have reason to wonder who and what could be lost.

Sad and Beautiful World was produced by Brad Cook, known for his work with Bon Iver, Waxahatchee, and Iron and Wine, among other artists. The record spans seven decades of the American songbook — a range nearly as vast as Mavis’ career — and includes reinventions of timeless songs as well as original music.

Now 86, Mavis has been performing since the age of eight. After starting out with her father Roebuck “Pops” Staples, sisters Cleotha and Yvonne, and brother Pervis in the Staple Singers more than seventy years ago, she’s the lone surviving member of the group, still carrying her family’s gifts and knowledge with her as a living heritage.

Inducted into several halls of fame (blues, rock, and gospel), a Kennedy Center Honoree, a winner of multiple Grammys (including a Lifetime Achievement award), Mavis is our musical history. She’s collaborated with nearly every major figure of her era(s), from Dylan to Prince, Aretha, and Willie — not to mention countless stars from subsequent generations.

Sad and Beautiful World includes cameos by artists who have become part of Mavis’ world, many of whom are legends in their own right. Buddy Guy, Bonnie Raitt, Jeff Tweedy, Derek Trucks, Katie Crutchfield, MJ Lenderman, Justin Vernon, and others shine a light on her, while Mavis does what only she can do. Embracing vulnerability, she sings close and deep here, drawing the listener into a circle filled with her unforgettable presence.

The first track recorded for the album, “Human Mind,” was written for and about Mavis by Hozier and Allison Russell. Paying tribute to the complexity of life, Mavis expresses faith in humanity: “Even in these days, I find / this far down the line, / I find good in it sometimes.” That magical last word — “sometimes” — shows her choosing hope, even with the disappointments that experience has brought.

Her take on Tom Waits’ “Chicago” flaunts her vocal prowess, opening the album with a high-octane journey North that her family actually made—a dream of a future, but one offering no guarantees. Guitar riffs from Buddy Guy and Derek Trucks layer the song with a musical legacy that rose out of that same migration, a migration that Guy himself also lived.

These are love songs for tough times. The title track, written by Mark Linkous (a.k.a. Sparklehorse), with its funeral-march rhythm and spare lyrics, finds beauty even in the midst of grief over everything that’s been lost. Mavis turns to Gillian Welch’s “Hard Times” to testify that “we’re gonna make it yet.”

On Kevin Morby’s “Beautiful Strangers,” she reminds those in danger, “If you ever hear the gunshot… think of mother / I am a rock.” Released over the summer, her version of Frank Ocean’s “Godspeed,” delivers a staggering benediction to those who stumble: “There will be mountains you won’t move. / I’ll always be there for you.”

“We Got To Have Peace”, written by Curtis Mayfield, her friend and longtime collaborator, is framed by Mavis as a plea and a psalm. Yet her take on Leonard Cohen’s “Anthem” carries a quiet fury that suggests choosing peace shouldn’t be mistaken for submission.

The album closes on two reflective notes. Mavis sings “Satisfied Mind,” a song made famous by Porter Wagoner, and delivers it from the perspective of a long life well lived, reminding listeners that fleeting glory makes for shallow victory. And with “Everybody Needs Love,” Mavis finishes with the joy she insists on spreading, reminding us that she’s here, that we cannot go it alone, and that we don’t have to.

It’s impossible to talk to Mavis’ collaborators without them bringing up the strength of her spirit and her generosity, growing animated over how much her songs mean to them. Allison Russell described hearing the Staple Singers as a preteen and finding out that Mavis had played a key part in the civil rights movement as a young woman.

Mavis Staples is more than a legendary voice—she is a living piece of music history. For more than 70 years, her powerful voice has carried messages of love, hope, compassion, and resilience. From performing alongside the Staple Singers during the Civil Rights Movement to continuing to inspire audiences today, Mavis has used music to bring people together and stand for something greater.

Now, at 85, she continues to make music and history, reminding us that it’s never too late to keep sharing your voice, your story, and your hope. Come visit an unforgettable spirit that keeps inspiring entire generations and the ones next to come.