Next month, Mavis Staples will turn 85. The legendary singer already celebrated in April with a concert featuring Chris Stapleton, Grace Potter, Hozier, and more; today, she’s releasing the new Prince-inspired song “Worthy.”
“It’s a pick-me-up song — it’s a celebration, and you can’t help but move,” Staples says. “Certain songs just cover you, and this song is just so sassy and fire. It’s got me fired up.” It was written and produced by Mark Ronson protégé MNDR, who adds:
Working with the legendary Mavis Staples seems like a dream. Listening to her soulful voice, spending time in her grace, and watching her artistry in the studio as the trailblazing icon of music and culture was an experience too profound to put into words and one that I will never forget. As I listened to her breathe life into our song “Worthy” — a song of celebration through good times and hard times, a song to celebrate ourselves and others — I realized that there is no other artist who could give this song more spirit and soul than Mavis Staples, a legend, an icon. It was one of the most profound moments of my life, and I am forever grateful.
Staples is also the subject of a new children’s book, written by poet Carol Boston Weatherford and titled Bridges Instead Of Walls: The Story Of Mavis Staples. It arrives July 9 — the day before her birthday — via Rocky Pond Books. Hear “Worthy” below.
