When Mavis Staples thinks about her late friend Levon Helm, memories of her family flood into her mind.
But these days, Staples’ strongest memory of her dear friend Levon Helm is from the last time the two ever performed together. Back in June of 2011, Mavis Staples and her band arrived at Helm’s Woodstock home for a very special edition of Helm’s regular
From the moment Staples arrived, the weekend felt like a family reunion. She still remembers greeting Helm on his porch in the middle of a rainstorm and the two old friends breaking into the spiritual “Didn’t It Rain.” “He was really feeling good and strong and I remember he started to get sick again by the end of August,” says Helm, who, like Staples, carries on her family’s musical legacy in her solo career. “That summer, and this gig, was a really special, healthy, beautiful time, with lots of laughter. It’s perfect for [one of his] last musical experiences like that to have been with her.”the first time she heard Levon Helm’s voice.
“I said, ‘Levon, you want me to sing this song? You know I’m a gospel singer,’” Staples remembers of the “Hound Dog” session. “He said, ‘Mavis, anything you sing, there’s gospel in it.’”