George Haffenden“We’re not here to put on a show, we’re here for a service… we want you to feel that your in the house of the Lord.” – Pops Staples.
Perhaps one of the greatest family recording units of all time is The Staple Singers, true icons of the civil rights movement in America during the 1960s and 1970s. This week, to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the civil rights march in Selma, their Freedom Highway album, recorded at Chicago’s New Nazareth Church in 1965, has been re-released in its entirety. The Staples’ songs became songs for the civil rights era: songs like ‘Respect Yourself’, ‘I’ll Take You There’ and ‘Freedom Highway’ itself defined the sound of the march towards civil rights, and arguably, in the wake of the shootings of several unarmed African-American teenagers over the past year, have taken on a new significance.
Being a twenty-two year old white middle-class male from Sussex, England, perhaps I’m not the best person to be writing this review on the importance of this music to the civil rights marchers; I can only listen to the music, and read about their stories online. Moreover, here in the UK, we never had such a system of segregation. That’s not to say we did not have a problem of racism, nor that we have truly overcome this problem of racism, as recent political victories for the far-right have shown. So perhaps I’m not best qualified to judge these matters, but I like to think I know great music when I hear it. And on this album, everyone, regardless of nationality, race or background, can enjoy the beauty of this collection.
In terms of soul music, only Aretha Franklin is vocally superior to Mavis Staples; whisper it quietly, but perhaps today Mavis is actually better than the Queen. On Freedom Highway, Mavis shines above her siblings, demonstrating a sophistication to her singing that is unmatched. Take ‘Build on That Shore’ for instance, whilst the Staples sing in unison, Mavis’ voice transcends, leading the unit powerfully and emotionally. She does so even more on ‘We Shall Overcome’, an anthem of the civil rights movement that is delivered so powerfully here, with true Southern soul grit – with the response from the congregation a delight to hear. Indeed, I can only imagine the significance of this song to the people in the congregation, who lacked the basic rights and liberties supposedly guaranteed to them by the US Constitution. It’s difficult for those of us born today to understand the struggle.
Next on the service is ‘Freedom Highway’, which Pops Staples introduces and dedicates to the freedom marchers who marched at Selma on that fateful day fifty years ago. The song itself is pure soul: Mavis’ voice lifts up the congregation, with her siblings providing sweet harmony to her raw, gospel vocals. It’s arguably the best song on the collection, and it’s worth checking out the album for this song alone. ‘What You Gonna Do?’ quietens the congregation down for a moment, allowing Pops Staples’ incredible guitar licks to be heard, as well as raspy yet gorgeous vocals.
This album’s timely release reminds us, as least it should remind many in America, about the challenges faced by the African-American community fifty years ago, and the long, persisting shadows that these challenges cast today. This is a remarkable reissue, a historical artefact that deserves all the attention and credit possible.