Mavis Staples

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Alongside the family group she is so identified with, the Staple Singers, Mavis Staples has had a six-decade career cementing herself as cornerstone of American music. From the Delta-inflected gospel sound she helped create in the 1950s, to the engaged protest of the civil rights era, and then, amazingly, on pop radio in the Stax era with a series of soul anthems, from "I'll Take You There" to "Respect Yourself," Staples carried on, her warm embrace of a voice the only constant.