Mavis Staples is back with a brand new studio album celebrating 70 years of the American Songbook.
Sad and Beautiful World is Staples’ fifteenth studio album and the follow-up to 2019’s We Get By. The album is her take on the American Songbook featuring a mix of both classics and new songs that have shaped Staples’ artistry, including her renditions of songs by the likes of Curtis Mayfield, Leonard Cohen, Gillian Welch, Tom Waits and Frank Ocean.
Produced by Brad Cook, known for his work with Bon Iver, Waxahatchee, and Iron and Wine, the album features appearances from Buddy Guy, Bonnie Raitt, Jeff Tweedy, Derek Trucks, Katie Crutchfield, MJ Lenderman and Justin Vernon. Other contributors include Hozier and Alison Russell, who wrote the track “Human Mind,” on the album.
Widely considered as one of the most enduring figures in American music, the 86 year old has been performing since the age of eight and came into prominence alongside her father Roebuck “Pops” Staples, sisters Cleotha and Yvonne, and brother Pervis as part of the Staple Singers.
As the last surviving member of the Staple Singers, Mavis Staples continues the family tradition of to using music as an antidote to hope and healing and this newest record is an example of that. “You have to stay hopeful and have faith that things are going to get better,” says Staples.
Sad and Beautiful World comes out Friday, November 7 on Anti Records.
