Rolling Stone Lists Mavis Among 100 Greatest Singers

Rolling Stone has released an issue focusing on the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time, and Mavis clocks in at no. 56 on the list.

The magazine compiled a blue-ribbon panel of musical experts who voted, including Mavis herself. Select ballots appear on RollingStone.com, and voters from Keith Richards to Courtney Love to Billy Gibbons to Roger McGuinn listed Mavis on their ballots.

In the same issue, Booker T. Jones writes a great essay recalling his memories of the no. 8 singer on the list, Otis Redding.

Independent Pleasure Club Out Now

Holy Hail's debut record hits stores today (Kanine Records). Its blistering lead track 'Elemental' is part of MTV2's 'Subterranean' podcast, along with tracks by Paper Route, Wolf Parade and Iran.

The quick CMJ review: "While Holy Hail's multitrack harmonies and diverse make-up may solicit comparisons to contemporaries Black Kids, they are hardly the type to jump on a bandwagon. From the band's 2005 inception they've been determined to "put lyrical potency back into pop music," and their debut album is proof." Full review (as .jpg) here.

Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue and Amanda Shaw Join 525 roster

525 Worldwide is extremely pleased to welcome Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue and Amanda Shaw to its management roster.

Trombone Shorty comes to 525 as client co-managed by The Rosebud Agency. Shorty has been called "a rock star" by the NY Times and he has performed and toured with Lenny Kravitz, U2 and Green Day among many others. At the recent Voodoo Festival in New Orleans, Juvenile sat in with the band and Louisiana Weekly wrote about the performance "To put it simply, Andrews, who has always shone brightly, now definitely displays all the makings of a superstar." TS and OA will be recording this winter and they are touring with JJ Greay & MOFRO this month.

18 year old New Orleans-based singer, songwriter and fiddler Amanda Shaw is a rising star among New Orleans roots musicians. The Boston Globe wrote that Amanda "is poised to break out as a refreshingly earthy alternative in a scene littered with cookie-cutter teen dreams." Amanda is working on her upcoming record, which will be released in 2009.

Mavis' Hope Rewarded

Mavis Staples's first-ever live album, Mavis Staples Live: Hope at the Hideout was released today. Recorded in Chicago in June, when Mavis was 68 years old and the presidential race was just beginning in earnest, the album captures a lifetime of hope, heartache and musical joy that might be said to have culminated in the election of an African-American as leader of the free world.

Now that fellow Chicagoan Barack Obama has been elected President of the United States, Mavis reflects: "To come up in a time when there was racism, the KKK, and Jim Crow, I'm just so grateful to still be here to enjoy this historical time in our lives. It is so surreal, so completely overwhelming. This young black man has inspired and brought the country together. There's something about him that makes me feel he is the chosen one. There's something about his leadership that makes people feel calm and safe. He has inspired hopes and dreams of all people--black, white, brown or yellow. Doctor King and Pops I just know are so happy. 'The Dream' is alive."