World Cafe Looks Back: Blues And Gospel
Mavis Staples performs with The Roots at the Climate Rally on the National Mall on April 25, 2010, in Washington, D.C.
Mavis Staples performs with The Roots at the Climate Rally on the National Mall on April 25, 2010, in Washington, D.C.
Live Setlist
- Buddy Guy, "Who's Gonna Fill Those Shoes"
- Koko Taylor, "Don't Put Your Hand On Me"
- Koko Taylor, "Wang Dang Doodle"
- R.L. Burnside, "Going Down South"
- R.L. Burnside, "Let My Baby Ride"
- Mavis Staples, "I'll Take You There"
Throughout the month of October, we celebrated the 20th anniversary of World Cafe by revisiting some of the best and most memorable interviews of the past 20 years.
On today's show, host David Dye celebrates blues and gospel visionaries by resurfacing past conversations with guitar masters Buddy Guy and R.L. Burnside, gospel storyteller Mavis Staples and blues royalty Koko Taylor.
Widely known as "Queen of the Blues," Koko Taylor spoke with Michaela Majoun in 1994, after the release of Taylor's album Force of Nature. Discovered by producer Willie Dixon, Taylor landed a recording contract with Chess Records, rising to fame with her 1965 single "Wang Dang Doodle." Taylor died in 2009.
Chicago bluesman Buddy Guy came of age in the 1950s Baton Rouge scene, though his Grammy-winning 1991 album Damn Right I've Got the Blues remains one of his best-loved works. Guy visited World Cafe in 2005, the same year he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
R.L. Burnside visited World Cafe in 2000. Although he played guitar and sang throughout his life, Burnside (who died in 2005) primarily made his living as a farmer and fisherman — that is, until Fat Possum Records gave his music career a boost in the 1990s. Hear a rollicking live performance from Burnside and his band, which includes his grandson Cedric Burnside.
Mavis Staples is another performer with strong family ties, having led The Staple Singers with her father Pops Staples in their church starting in the 1940s. By the 1960s, the group was touring the South alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., energizing the Civil Rights movement with freedom songs. She visited World Cafe in 2004 for one of the show's best conversations.
This story originally aired on October 12, 2011.
More World Cafe
World Cafe
John Mayer On World Cafe
Mayer reflects on his personal history and public image, and also plays songs from his new album.
World Cafe
Janiva Magness On World Cafe
The blues singer plays songs from her new album, Stronger For It, live in the studio.
World Cafe
The History Of The Wrecking Crew On World Cafe
The author of The Wrecking Crew talks about the influential group of 1960s musicians.
Comments
Please keep your community civil. All comments must follow the NPR.org Community rules and terms of use. See also the Community FAQ.
NPR reserves the right to read on the air and/or publish on its website or in any medium now known or unknown the e-mails and letters that we receive. We may edit them for clarity or brevity and identify authors by name and location. For additional information, please consult our Terms of Use.