BeachLife Sunday a show of force
Mavis Staples, and the Black Crows deliver memory-making performances by Garrick Rawlings In a truly righteous world Mavis Staples would have headlined Sunday night in Redondo, the final night of this year’s highly successful Beachlife Festival. Righteous in the sense of accomplishment, talent and ongoing relevance, rather than nostalgia. Staples began singing in her family’s Chicago-based band, The Staples Singers, led by her father, Pops Staples. She is the sole survivor. The Staples singers were Martin Luther King Jr.’s de facto opening act throughout the Equal Rights Movement in the ‘60s. She sang with her heroes, gospel legend, Mahalia Jackson, and soul legend, Aretha Franklin. She performed at Woodstock, and released a stellar cover of The Band’s classic, “The Weight,” in ’68. She then immortalized the song with The Band themselves in Martin Scorsese’s 1978 film The Last Waltz. And she has multiple Grammys. Legends Mavis Staples and guitarist/singer Rick Holmstrom connect with the young audience. Photo by Ron Vasquez She continues to have a great run with recent award-winning solo albums, with Ry Cooder and Jeff Tweedy serving as successive producers. Presently she tours…
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