Joss Stone

With a sound and style that belies her eighteen years; Joss Stone is at the vanguard of a new generation of soul singers. Since emerging on the music scene a scant two years ago, with her Soul Sessions EP, Joss Stone has made major waves in the pop music world. Stone developed her authentic, earthy style thanks to her rather exceptional listening habits, which included heavy doses of American R&B and Classic Soul from the 1960's and 70's.

The young singer's sophisticated tastes were readily reflected in the 2003 release of The Soul Sessions EP, which featured Stone's interpretations of a bevy of classic soul tunes made popular by R&B giants Aretha Franklin, Carla Thomas, and Stone's producer/mentor, Betty Wright. On The Soul Sessions EP, Stone’s ingenuity, as well as her “god-given gift” shone through. Not only did Stone turn country songwriter Harlan Howard's "The Chokin' Kind" into a neo-soul classic, she also pushed her gender-corrected version of The White Stripes, "Fell In Love With A Boy", to the Billboard Top 40.

With the release of Mind, Body & Soul in 2004, (the work Stone considers to be her first proper album,) Stone proved that she could deliver the goods with verve, sass and attitude befitting the most established of soul divas. Stone also proved that her talents do not lie in her voice alone, lending a hand in the authoring of 12 of the disc’s 14 tracks. After its September, 2004 release, the album shot to #1 in Stone’s native UK, and summarily peaked at #11 on the Billboard Top 200 in the US, demonstrating that Stone’s amazing debut was no fluke. If Stone’s amazing success in such a short time is any indication of things to come, the young singer has proven that with her talents, the sky’s the limit.

Mavis Staples

At a young age Mavis Staples became the powerful voice in front of what was arguably the world’s greatest Gospel group. Her music and message have been inexorably linked with the music and history of her family ever since.

Born and raised on Chicago’s South Side, Mavis quickly took her place alongside her father, Pops, brother, Pervis, and sister Cleotha (and eventually younger sisters Yvonne and Cynthia) in The Staples Singers. Introduced by Pops to Chicago church audiences in the early 50’s, the Staples quickly found success on stages and in halls all over the world. In 1957 the Staples had their first recorded hit: their version of the gospel classic “Uncloudy Day” on Chicago’s Vee-Jay label.

By the 1960’s, the Staples took their style, a “soulful sway of Chicago with riveting Blues guitar” on the road with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The family became renowned for playing songs that would become Civil Rights anthems, among them, “Why Am I Treated So Bad” and “Freedom Highway”. Pops promised, “If Dr. King could preach it, we can sing it.”

As their audiences grew, Pops, Mavis and the Staples spread their message to a broader base, crossing from strictly gospel audience to folk stage, the coffee house and the concert hall. The Staples Singers covered their pop contemporaries too, including many songs of Bob Dylan, and their 1967 cover of Stephen Stills’ topical protest song, “For What It’s Worth.”

The Staples hit the Top 40 eight times from 1971-1975, with their unmistakable songs recorded for the Stax label: "Heavy Makes You Happy (Sha-Na-Boom Boom)", "Respect Yourself", and the anthemic "I'll Take You There".

Mavis's first solo album appeared on the Stax/Volt label in 1969, followed by Only For The Lonely in 1970. Mavis also completed soundtracks with Curtis Mayfield, both with the Staples Singers and solo, and appeared with her family in The Band’s farewell documentary, "The Last Waltz."

While Mavis and her family continued to bring the Staples’ message to audiences the world over, Mavis dabbled with solo releases. Mavis collaborated with ardent fan, Prince, on 1989’s Time Waits for No One, and 1993’s The Voice, which were released on Prince’s Paisley Park label. Mavis’ pet project Spirituals and Gospel: A Tribute to Mahalia Jackson followed in 1996 as a testament to the music of fellow gospel great and family friend, Mahalia Jackson.

Nearly a decade later, Mavis released Have A Little Faith on her hometown label, Alligator Records. The album, a mixture of Staples’ preternatural gospel style and passionate Soul and R&B influences, became Staples’ highest profile release in years. The album urged Rolling Stone to comment: “(Staples is) the most underrated diva of the century… she has an almost superhuman ability to implant the pure power of passion.”