ALBUMS: Be What You Are (1973); Wattstax: The Living Word (1973).
MVC Rating: Be What You Are, 4.0/$$$$: Wattstax 4.0/$$$$$
Music fans owe a big debt to our churches. Our places of worship have been *fertile soil for the growth of some of our best known singers and musicians.
Little Richard, Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Justin Timberlake, Katy Perry, Tina Turner, and Usher to name just a few.
The Staple Singers were one of my favorites along these lines. Their soulful gospel crossed over well to rock fans of the 1960s and 1970s with Roebuck ‘Pops’ Staple ripping some electric guitar licks behind the emotional gospel singing of his children, Cleotha, Pervis and Mavis. Daughter Yvonne replaced Pervis after he was drafted, according to Wikipedia .
Mavis was the star of the group with a deep soulful voice that was as chock-full of vocal asides, ‘oh yeahs,’ ‘Lord help me’s,’ and ‘y’alls’ — (Take my hand if you can, ‘y’all uh huh.’)
My record, ‘Be What You Are’ was among several that charted in the early 1970. My copy is in terrible condition, and I’ve just made a mental note to get it replaced. See I knew there was some reason I was doing this.
The other album I have is Wattstax, a 2-record set capturing the massive soul/rock fund-raiser held on the sixth anniversary of the 1965 Watts riots in Los Angeles. It was a coming together at the Los Angeles Coliseum of 100,000 people and every recording artist on the Stax record label.
The Staple Singers were featured on a full album side. Other performers on the record include Rufus Thomas, Isaac Hayes, Albert King and the Dramatics. The Staple Singers played one of their biggest hits: Respect Yourself.
The Staple Singers also were featured in The Last Waltz, the concert film directed by Martin Scorsese starring the Band. Mavis and family are true highlights singing the ‘Weight’ with the group.