Synopses & Reviews
Review
"Kot depicts the endurance of Mavis Staples and her familyand#8217;s music as an inspiration, a saga that takes us, like the song that inspired this bookand#8217;s name, to a place where ainand#8217;t nobody crying."
Review
and#8220;[andlt;Iandgt;Iand#8217;ll Take You Thereandlt;/Iandgt;] takes us deep into the golden age of Mavis and her marvelously talented group.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;A biography that will send readers back to the music of Mavis and the Staple Singers with deepened appreciation and a renewed spirit of discoveryand#8230;. Through it all, the ebullience of Mavis Staples and her music shine through.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Kot chronicles the amazing story of a family that went from a hardscrabble life in Mississippi to Chicagoand#8217;s church circuit to worldwide fame, merging the genres of roots, gospel, and souland#8230;. This is a moving tribute to a very talented family and one gracious woman, in particular.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;A lively, engaging family biography, written with the Stapleses' cooperation and filled with vivid portraits, celebrity cameos and descriptions of music so evocative I kept wishing the book had come with a set of CDs.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Emotional honesty resonates throughout andlt;Iandgt;I'll Take You Thereandlt;/Iandgt;. Kot provides an unflinching look into the Stapleses' struggles to maintain their spiritual and artistic integrityand#8230; andlt;Iandgt;I'll Take You Thereandlt;/Iandgt; is a biography that's well worth the heavenly journey.and#8221;
Review
"[A] fascinating testimony. . . . Kotand#8217;s portrayal of Mavis is deft and balanced, worthy of a performance that, no matter how often you play it, never fails to live up to the promise of its title."
Review
and#8220;Mavis Staples and the Staple Singers are a mighty river running through more than a half-century of song, connecting Sam Cooke to Prince and Bob Dylan to Wilco. Thoroughly researched and elegantly told, Iand#8217;ll Take You There offers powerful and inspiring insight into not only American music, but American history.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Kotand#8217;s take on the singerand#8217;s immense discography is invaluable, and Staplesand#8217; indomitable spirit shines through."
Review
and#8220;A thorough and illuminating biography that offers plenty of revealing details about a group the Bandand#8217;s Robbie Robertson once likened to and#8216;a lonely train in the distance.and#8217;and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Involving from beginning to end. . . . [Kot] charts the [Staples] familyand#8217;s origins in gospel music; their gradual drift into folk, soul and pop; the reverberations of their increasingly political songs during the civil rights era. . . 'I'll Take You There'...is rich musical history."andlt;u5:pandgt;andlt;/u5:pandgt;
Review
"Kot has a knack for distilling the stuff of interviews and research into pithy descriptions of the Staple Singersand#8217; lean years."
Review
"Mr. Kot is deft at describing music on its own terms.... Like the best music biographies, andlt;Iandgt;Iand#8217;ll Take You There andlt;/Iandgt;sends readers running for their collections to investigate the bookand#8217;s many musical premises and revelations."
Synopsis
"A biography that will send readers back to the music of Mavis and the Staple Singers with deepened appreciation and a renewed spirit of discovery" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review)--from the acclaimed music journalist and author featured prominently in the new HBO documentary Mavis
This is the untold story of living legend Mavis Staples--lead singer of the Staple Singers and a major figure in the music that shaped the civil rights era. One of the most enduring artists of popular music, Mavis and her talented family fused gospel, soul, folk, and rock to transcend racism and oppression through song. Honing her prodigious talent on the Southern gospel circuit of the 1950s, Mavis and the Staple Singers went on to sell more than 30 million records, with message-oriented soul music that became a soundtrack to the civil rights movement--inspiring Martin Luther King, Jr. himself.
Critically acclaimed biographer and Chicago Tribune music critic Greg Kot cuts to the heart of Mavis Staples's music, revealing the intimate stories of her sixty-year career. From her love affair with Bob Dylan, to her creative collaborations with Prince, to her recent revival alongside Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, this definitive account shows Mavis as you've never seen her before. I'll Take You There was written with the complete cooperation of Mavis and her family. Readers will also hear from Prince, Bonnie Raitt, David Byrne, and many others whose lives have been influenced by Mavis's talent.
Filled with never-before-told stories, this fascinating biography illuminates a legendary singer and group during a historic period of change in America. "Ultimately, Kot depicts the endurance of Mavis Staples and her family's music as an inspiration, a saga that takes us, like the song that inspired this book's name, to a place where ain't nobody crying" (The Washington Post).
About the Author
Greg Kot has been the music critic at theandnbsp;andlt;iandgt;Chicago Tribuneandnbsp;andlt;/iandgt;since 1990. Kot is co-host of the nationally syndicated public radio programandnbsp;andlt;iandgt;Sound Opinions, andlt;/iandgt;and the author of several books, includingandnbsp;andlt;iandgt;Wilco: Learning How to Die;andlt;/iandgt; and andlt;iandgt;Ripped: How the Wired Generation Revolutionized Musicandlt;/iandgt;.andnbsp;He lives in Chicago.