Accessibility links
Music Icon Mavis Staples celebrates 85 with a new book : It's Been a Minute This week, the legendary singer and civil rights figure Mavis Staples is turning 85 and there's no sign of her slowing down: She released a new song, "Worthy," and a children's book, Bridges Instead of Walls: The Story of Mavis Staples.

Today, Mavis joins host Brittany Luse to share stories from her life: what it was like to be mentored by Mahalia Jackson, how she helped create the soundtrack for the Civil Rights movement, how she was spurned by the church then welcomed back, and what it was like to collaborate with Prince.

Want to be featured on IBAM? Record a voice memo responding to Brittany's question at the end of the episode and send it to ibam@npr.org.

It's Been a Minute

Mavis Staples on Prince, MLK and a life onstage

Mavis Staples on Prince, MLK and a life onstage

Listen ยท 23:21
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197956774/1255402713" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Enlarge this image

Grammy award-winning soul singer Mavis Staples Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images

Grammy award-winning soul singer Mavis Staples

Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images

This week, the legendary singer and civil rights figure Mavis Staples is turning 85 and there's no sign of her slowing down: She released a new song, "Worthy," and a children's book, Bridges Instead of Walls: The Story of Mavis Staples.

Today, Mavis joins host Brittany Luse to share stories from her life: what it was like to be mentored by Mahalia Jackson, how she helped create the soundtrack for the Civil Rights movement, how she was spurned by the church then welcomed back, and what it was like to collaborate with Prince.

Want to be featured on IBAM? Record a voice memo responding to Brittany's question at the end of the episode and send it to ibam@npr.org.

This episode was produced by Corey Antonio Rose, Alexis Williams, and Liam McBain. It was edited by Jessica Placzek. Engineering support came from Carleigh Strange. Our executive producer is Veralyn Williams. Our VP of programming is Yolanda Sangweni.