Mavis Staples tells why she recorded freedom songs on new CD, 'We'll Never Turn Back'

Jet, May 14, 2007

Mavis Staples says the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina told the world that racism in America is still very much alive.

"Katrina told it all," the soul-gospel legend told Jet. "Racism is still here. It is still not fixed.

"You had all those Black people standing on rooftops of buildings saying, 'Help us.' And nobody came to help them. Tears started streaming down my face. Where was the government? Where was the help? It hurts me to see my people being mistreated."

That's what prompted Staples to record her latest CD, We'll Never Turn Back, a collection of contemporary renditions of the freedom songs performed during the Civil Rights Movement in the '50s and '60s.

As a member of the famed Staple Singers, featuring her late father Roebuck "Pops" Staples and her older siblings, Cleotha, Pervis and Yvonne, the baby of the family performed freedom songs and marched during the Civil Rights Movement.

"Pops saw Dr. Martin Luther King speak in 1963 and from there we started to broaden our musical vision beyond just gospel songs. Pops told us, 'I like this man. I like his message. If he can preach it, we can sing it.'"

The CD features the original Freedom Singers, and Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and was produced by noted guitarist Ry Cooder. Highlights include Eyes On The Prize, We Shall Not Be Moved, Turn Me Around, Down In Mississippi, This Little Light, Jesus Is On the Main Line, In The Mississippi River and the title track, We'll Never Turn Back.

The powerful CD is a hit with civil rights activists such as Rep. John Lewis, who marched with King in the '60s.

"It was this music that gave us hope when it seemed like all hope was gone," says Lewis. "I hope this music will help you find the courage to stand up, speak up, and speak out and answer the call of your own conscience."

The Staple Singers won fame as a gospel group in 1950 and later achieved international fame with such '70s soulful, inspirational tunes as I'll Take You There, Respect Yourself, If You're Ready (Come Go With Me) and chart-topping hit Let's Do It Again. Staples and her father sang lead on the group's biggest hits.

"I just pray that my songs will be heard," she says of We'll Never Turn Back. "Things are better, but we're not where we need to be. I was there back in the '50s and '60s when the movement and struggle began and the Lord has blessed me to still be here in the 21st century to carry on and do what I can to continue, so that Dr. King didn't die in vain."