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Neal formed his first band, The Clouds, when he was just 17. The group originally featured guitarist Lester Johnson (later known as Lazy Lester) who was soon replaced by the young Buddy Guy. Little Walter himself heard the band while he was in Baton Rouge and invited them up to Chicago to fill in gigs he couldn’t make. While Guy headed north, Neal stayed in Baton Rouge to raise his growing family.

Neal’s first single, “Sunny Side Of Love” came in 1958 on Don Robey’s Peacock label. A series of singles followed on regional labels like Witt and La Louisiane. During the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, Neal became a local legend, performing around the south and teaching his children the finer points of the blues. As his reputation grew, a 1987 single for the Fantastic label, “Man, Watch Your Woman,” was nominated for a W.C. Handy Blues Award.

His first full album, “Louisiana Legend,” was released on King Snake Records in 1988 and was later reissued by Alligator. A 1991 recording for Ichiban, “I Been Mistreated,” and a 1998 release, “Old Friends,” for the Club Louisianne label, helped Neal stay in the public eye. Neal appeared on a number of compilation CDs for the Telarc label, including “The Hoodoo Kings,” and “Superharps II.” These recordings kept Neal’s tour schedule full, as he performed from Baton Rouge to points all over the country.

Nine of Neal's 11 children inherited his blues-playing prowess and play professionally, including guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Kenny Neal, who played on “Louisiana Legend” and has made 10 albums on his own. Other famed musician family members include Raful, Jr., Fredrick, Darnell, Larry, Graylon, Noel, and Jackie. Raful was inducted into the Louisiana Blues Hall of Fame in 1995.

The Griffin Brothers, one of Dot Records' most popular touring R&B acts, hired Watts right after he finished college, and he toured with them for a time. In 1952, he joined famed baritone saxophonist Paul "Hucklebuck" Williams as a member of the house band for the groundbreaking TV show “Showtime At The Apollo.” Later on, he had a stint playing with Lionel Hampton's big band. He also played on late '50s tour packages behind the likes of Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers.

Watts first recording came in 1954 on DeLuxe Records. A 1956 single for VeeJay Records preceded his two-year association with New York’s Baton label. The song “Hard Times (The Slop)” brought Watts to the pop charts in 1957. Countless tours and performances – as well as a string of singles for various labels - kept Watts busy through the 1960s and into the 1970s.

A comeback album in 1987, RETURN OF THE THIN MAN, for Kingsnake Records (re-released by Alligator Records in 1990) received massive critical acclaim brought Watts to his largest audience. A 1993 album for the Ichiban label, KING OF THE BOOGIE SAX, kept Watts’ visibility high.

Although Watts performed less frequently in recent years, he did headline a DeLand, Florida concert in 2001 to celebrate his 75th birthday. He received an honory doctorate in 2000 from Stetson University in DeLand. In May 2004, the African American Museum of the Arts in his hometown dedicated an amphitheatre named after Watts.

Watts is survived by his wife, son, daughter, sister, five grand children and two great grandchildren.

CHICAGO READER feature:
http://www.chicagoreader.com/TheMeter/040813.html

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES feature
http://www.suntimes.com/output/entertainment/sho-sunday-mavis15.html

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES CD review
http://www.suntimes.com/output/rock/sho-sunday-spins15.html

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS CD Review
http://www.nydailynews.com/08-14-2004/entertainment/story/221804p-190617c.html

August 14: Public Radio International’s “Conversations From The World Café.” Airing at 1:00pm est. Mavis discusses her career and the making of HAVE A LITTLE FAITH. Go to http://www.worldcafe.org/conversations.php for more information.

August 16: National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.” Airs on over 700 NPR affiliates domestically and NRP Worldwide, reaching 140 stations around the world. Mavis speaks with host Michelle Norris about the new cd as well as her career. Go to http://www.npr.org/programs/atc/ for more information.

August 17: CNN Headline News. Airing at 11:54am est. “Paste Magazine” editor Josh Jackson will highlight HAVE A LITTLE FAITH in his on-air new releases segment.

August 18: CNN/fn’s “The Biz.” Airing at 12:30pm est. Mavis will be interviewed live in a segment highlighting her new CD.

Possessing one of the most recognizable voices in contemporary music, Mavis Staples (along with her family group, The Staple Singers) is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and is included on VH1’s list of 100 Greatest Women of Rock and Roll. Staples – both on her own and as a member of The Staple Singers – is responsible for blazing a rhythm & blues trail while never relinquishing her gospel roots. Appearances alongside everyone from musicians Janis Joplin, Mahalia Jackson, Santana and Aretha Franklin and recording sessions with Bob Dylan, Los Lobos, Bonnie Raitt, and Emmylou Harris to political figures including the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. barely scratch the surface of her accomplishments.

Born in Chicago in 1940, Mavis began her career with her family group, The Staple Singers, in 1950. Initially singing locally at churches and appearing on a weekly radio show, the Staples scored a gigantic hit in 1956 with “Uncloudy Day” for the VeeJay label. Upon Mavis’ high school graduation in 1957, The Staple Singers took their music on the road. Led by family patriarch Roebuck “Pops” Staples and including Mavis and siblings Cleo, Yvonne and Pervis, the Staples were often referred to as “God’s Greatest Hitmakers.”

With prodding from Mavis, the Staples evolved from enormously popular gospel singers (with recordings on United, Riverside and VeeJay) to become the most spectacular and influential spiritually-based group in America. By the mid-1960’s The Staple Singers, inspired by their close friendship with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., became the spiritual and musical voices of the civil rights movement (according to Pops, “If Dr. King could preach it, we can sing it.”).

The Staple Singers covered contemporary pop hits with positive messages, including many Bob Dylan songs and a version of Stephen Stills' “For What It's Worth.” The Staples sang “message” songs like “Long Walk To D.C.” and “When Will We Be Paid?,” bringing their moving and articulate music to an enormous number of young people. The group signed to Stax Records in 1968, joining together their gospel harmonies and deep faith with musical accompaniment from members of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. The Staple Singers hit the Top 40 eight times between 1971 and 1975, including two #1 singles: “I’ll Take You There” and “Let’s Do It Again.” Now a long ways from their early roots as a pure gospel group, The Staple Singers were bona fide pop stars.

Mavis Staples recorded her first solo album for the famed Stax label in 1969. After another Stax release, “ONLY FOR THE LONELY,” in 1970, she released a soundtrack album, “A PIECE OF THE ACTION,” on Curtis Mayfield’s Curtom label. A 1984 album (also self-titled) preceded two albums under the direction of rock megastar Prince: 1989’s “TIME WAITS FOR NO ONE,” followed by 1993’s “THE VOICE.” Her most recent release, 1996’s “SPIRITUALS & GOSPEL: A TRIBUTE TO MAHALIA JACKSON,” is a moving song cycle honoring Jackson, a very close family friend.

During her career Staples has appeared in many films and television shows, including “The Last Waltz,” “Graffiti Bridge,” “Wattstax,” “New York Undercover,” “Soul Train,” and “The Cosby Show.” Her music has been sampled by some of the biggest selling hip-hop artists, including Salt ‘N’ Pepa, Ice Cube and Ludacris. Mavis has recorded with a wide variety of musicians, from her close friend Bob Dylan (with whom she was nominated for a 2003 Grammy© Award in the “Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals” category for their duet on “Gotta Change My Way Of Thinking” from the album “GOTTA SERVE SOMEBODY—THE GOSPEL SONGS OF BOB DYLAN”) to The Band, Ray Charles, Nona Hendryx, George Jones, Natalie Merchant, Ann Peebles, Delbert McClinton and many others. She has provided vocals on current albums by Los Lobos and Dr. John, and she appears on recent tribute albums to Johnny Paycheck, Stephen Foster and Johnny Cash.

Now, with “HAVE A LITTLE FAITH,” Mavis Staples is building on a family tradition of joining gospel fervor with shades of soul and R&B. Her importance in both the music world and as a driving force of social change makes her a true icon—an artist who continues to create music that will inspire a whole new generation of people to have faith in the healing and uplifting power of her remarkable gift.

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