William looks back over the career of soul and gospel singer, Mavis Staples - almost six decades - and samples tracks from her solo albums and the albums she released with The Staples Singers. He plays two tracks from her most recent release, produced by Jeff Tweedy - One True Vine.

Playlist

'Song title' (Composer) – Performers
Album title
(Label)

'Holy Ghost' (Sparhawk) – Mavis Staples
One True Vine
(Anti)

'Will the circle be unbroken' (Trad) – The Staple Singers
Uncloudy Day
(Charly)

'For what it’s worth' (Stills) – The Staple Singers
Freedom Highway
(Sony)

'Touch a Hand (Make a Friend)' (Hampton et al) – The Staple Singers
Be what you are
(Stax)

'How many times' (Soule/Frank/Woodford) – Mavis Staples
Only For the Lonely
(Stax/Festival)

'The Weight' (Robertson) – The Band w/ The Staples Singers
The Last Waltz
(Warner)

'Slippery People' (Byrne) – The Staple Singers
Turning Point
(Epic)

'Life during Wartime' (Byrne) – The Staple Singers
The Staple Singers
(Epic)

'Interesting' (Prince) – Mavis Staples w/ Prince
Time Waits for no one
(Paisley Park)

'Melody Cool' (Prince) – Mavis Staples w/ Prince
The Voice
(Paisley Park)

'Blood is thicker than time' (Prince) – Mavis Staples w/ Prince
The Voice
(Paisley Park)

'Pops Recipe' (Staples) – Mavis Staples
Have a Little Faith
(Alligator)

'Turn me around' (Trad) – Mavis Staples w/ Ry Cooder
We’ll never turn back
(Anti)

'Wonderful Saviour' (Trad) – Mavis Staples
You are not alone
(Anti)

'Losing You' (Newman) – Mavis Staples
You are not alone
(Anti)

'One True Vine' (Tweedy) – Mavis Staples
One True Vine
(Anti)