Mavis Staples "High Note"
About The Artist
The rain was coming down in thick, heavy sheets when Mavis Staples arrived in Woodstock. Still recovering from a recent knee surgery, Staples wasn’t her usual spry self that day, but any lingering aches and pains seemed to melt away the moment she spotted the familiar figure waiting to greet her on the porch. Lean and wiry, with a gentle warmth that radiated southern charm and hospitality, there was no mistaking Levon Helm. For his part, Helm had spent much of the day anticipating this very moment, pacing back and forth through the house with an uncharacteristic mix of nervous energy and giddy excitement. Sure, he’d hosted scores of legendary artists at his Barn over the years—Hell, he was a legend himself—but Mavis was different; Mavis was family. Quick as a flash, she was out of the car, through the rain, and up the steps, and there on the porch, as the pair embraced in the deep, spiritual way only two kindred souls can, Mavis Staples and Levon Helm did what came most naturally: they sang.
“Didn’t it rain, children / Talk ’bout rain, oh, my Lord,” Staples began, channeling Mahalia Jackson and Sister Rosetta Tharpe as Helm gleefully joined in. “Didn’t it, didn’t it, didn’t it oh my Lord / Didn’t it rain?”
“We both cried,” recalls Staples. “We hadn’t seen each other in years, and it was just such an emotional moment. How could we help but sing?”
