{"id":13604,"date":"2012-01-13T12:59:30","date_gmt":"2012-01-13T17:59:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=13604"},"modified":"2011-11-18T15:07:31","modified_gmt":"2011-11-18T20:07:31","slug":"legendary-singer-will-sing-from-the-heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2012\/01\/legendary-singer-will-sing-from-the-heart\/","title":{"rendered":"Legendary singer will sing from the heart"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The

The legendary Mavis Staples is coming to the Centre for the Arts.<\/p><\/div>\n

She\u2019s won a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. She\u2019s been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And at 72, Mavis Staples<\/a> just keeps on going.<\/p>\n

With a career spanning more than five decades, the venerable rhythm and blues singer has released 13 albums and 16 singles. It\u2019s a serviceable resume for any musician, but Staples, a gospel and blues legend, is not about to quit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m dedicated to singing,\u201d she says in a phone interview from her Chicago home. \u201cMy voice is a God-given gift, and I can\u2019t abuse a blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staples will appear at the Sean O\u2019Sullivan Theatre on Jan. 25 in one of about eight Canadian stops. Ten days earlier, she\u2019ll perform in Oakland, Calif. for a 10th annual tribute to Martin Luther King Jr.<\/p>\n

The constant touring is a joy for Staples. She\u2019s been playing gigs largely non-stop since her latest album You Are Not Alone<\/em> was released in 2010, fitting in appearances on shows such as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno<\/em> and The Late Show with David Letterman<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cEarlier this year, we were coming home for two days, changing luggage and leaving again,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019ve never traveled that much in one year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staples started singing professionally in 1952 with her family group, the Staples Singers. Doing songs that ranged from gospel to mainstream pop, the group released albums on a number of labels, including Epic and Stax Records. Their hits included \u201cRespect Yourself\u201d and \u201cI\u2019ll Take You There.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staples has received multiple accolades since then. She\u2019s been named one of Rolling Stone\u2019s greatest singers of all time. June 19, 2007 was officially Mavis Staples Day in Illinois in honour of her career and lifelong dedication to civil rights. June 12, 2005 was Mavis Staples Day in Chicago. She\u2019s done a duet with Bob Dylan (2003\u2019s Grammy-nominated \u201cGotta Change My Way of Thinking\u201d). Last year, she won a Grammy for best Americana album.<\/p>\n

Staples never grows bored of her career. She continues to be inspired by new audiences and new artists, she says. Her most recent favourite is British singer Adele, who she met recently in the UK. The young singer, couldn\u2019t believe the gospel legend had heard of her.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy sister had to tell her, \u2018Mavis never goes out and buys a CD, but she went out and bought yours,\u2019\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Staples\u2019 philosophy is to be as joyous as possible. She hopes Centre for the Arts<\/a> patrons at her show feel uplifted.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo many people are having a really hard time today,\u201d she says. \u201cI want to make them feel so good, they feel it for the next six months.\u201d<\/p>\n

She recalls at time performing as a young singer in New York City and following a group that had worn costumes and jumped around. When Staples took the stage, she tried to emulate them.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy father took me aside and said, \u2018What are you doing?\u2019\u201d she recalls. \u201c\u2018You\u2019re singing God\u2019s music. You don\u2019t need gimmicks. What comes from the heart goes to the heart. Sing from the heart and you\u2019ll get through to people.\u2019 And every time I go onstage now, that\u2019s what I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

When:<\/strong> Wednesday, Jan. 25, 7:30 p.m.
\nWhere:<\/strong> Sean O’Sullivan Theatre
\nCost:<\/strong> $55
\nTo order:<\/strong> 905-688-5550 x3257<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mavis Staples will bare her soul this month at the Centre for the Arts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13606,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[90],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13604"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13604"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13604\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13608,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13604\/revisions\/13608"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}