"I'll Take You There: Mavis Staples, the Staple Singers, and the March up Freedom's Highway" by Greg Kot (2014)

Finally a book about unique music family that connected gospel with blues and funk - it makes one wonder why it took so long but I guess better late than never, I am all for it to celebrate artists while they are still around than talking about them posthumously. Greg Kot took a task to explain the atmosphere of the gospel world in 1940s and 1950s while setting the stage of arrival of The Staple Singers and how their success reflected changes in society and music. It might be a bit too ambitious to present such cinematic sweep that would cover both political changes and personal story of Staples, but author largely pulls it off, mainly trough first-hand interviews with musicians, collaborators and the main subject, majestic Mavis Staples herself (by the way, I am going on her concert in a few days so this was my own serious preparation for that evening). 

Staples came from the bottom - father worked in a slaughterhouse and taught his children how to sing around the kitchen table - before they made a name for themselves initially on a gospel market, than later progressed towards pop charts, never losing the connection with their roots and what made them so loved in the first place. Surely not the only gospel family around, they also had a secret weapon in the form of youngest daughter who possesses one of the most unique voices in recorded history - from the first moment it was Mavis who was a focus of the particular Staples sound and when this volcanic roar was combined with father's recognisable guitar playing and her siblings harmonies, the result was one of the most memorable sound - their later radio hits almost eclipse what was really important about Staples and that was their involvement in civil rights movement, where they were on the front line on marches and speeches. 

Kot does a good job in connecting their personal story with changes around them, though book is largely written for music lovers and might be too detailed for casual readers - its written from perspective of a music journalist who loves all these facts about recording sessions - personally I had no problem with it and it got me running for all these old albums, but some might find it a bit repetitive.