Artist · chart history
Mavis Staples
Solo artist Chicago United States
Mavis Staples is an artist from Chicago. Mavis Staples has 69 chart appearances on 55 radio countdowns from 17 stations on RockLists, spanning 2009–2026. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Worthy”, which appears on 16 lists with a best position of #19. In total the artist has topped 1 countdown. The station that charted Mavis Staples most often is 90.9 The Bridge (Kansas City, MO), with 10 appearances. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 2024.
Mavis Staples was born in Chicago in 1939 and grew up singing in her family's band, the Staple Singers, where her deep, gritty voice carried hits like "I'll Take You There" and "Let's Do It Again". She is the last of that group still with us. Her first solo album came out in 1969, and she has never stopped since, trading verses along the way with Aretha Franklin, Prince, Bob Dylan, David Byrne, Ry Cooder and Arcade Fire.
The late run has been something to behold. You Are Not Alone in 2010 finally brought her a Grammy of her own, and One True Vine, Livin' on a High Note, If All I Was Was Black and We Get By kept coming, records where gospel fire meets the stubborn hope of a lifelong civil rights activist. "Change" and the title track of We Get By sound like sermons with a backbeat. She turned up on Hozier's "Nina Cried Power" too, and "Worthy" in 2024 and Sad and Beautiful World in 2025, with "Human Mind", prove the voice has lost none of its grain.
The honors have piled up: the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Staple Singers in 1999, Kennedy Center Honors in 2016, and a Rock Hall award for her solo work in 2019.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by Mavis Staples on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Worthy | 16 | #19 | – | 2024 | |
| 2 | Change | 8 | #1 | 1 | 2019 | |
| 3 | Wrote A Song For Everyone | 8 | #21 | – | 2010 | |
| 4 | Human Mind | 4 | #33 | – | 2025 | |
| 5 | All In It Together | 5 | #28 | – | 2020 | |
| 6 | Can You Get To That | 5 | #72 | – | 2013 | |
| 7 | We Get By | 2 | #45 | – | 2019 | |
| 8 | You Got to Move | 1 | #3 | – | 2022 | |
| 9 | You Are Not Alone | 4 | #92 | – | 2010 | |
| 10 | Eyes on the Prize | 1 | #254 | – | – | |
| 11 | We Shall Not Be Moved | 1 | #294 | – | – | |
| 12 | 99 and 1/2 | 1 | #381 | – | – | |
| 13 | 99 ½ | 1 | #457 | – | – | |
| 14 | Down In Mississippi | 1 | #416 | – | – | |
| 15 | High Note | 2 | #88 | – | 2016 | |
| 16 | Have a Little Faith | 2 | #584 | – | – | |
| 17 | If All I Was Was Black | 2 | #68 | – | 2017 | |
| 18 | Action | 1 | #578 | – | – | |
| 19 | Only the Lord Knows | 1 | #71 | – | 2010 | |
| 20 | Ain't No Doubt | 1 | #86 | – | 2017 | |
| 21 | I Like the Things About Me | 1 | #771 | – | – | |
| 22 | Gotta Serve Somebody | 1 | #724 | – | – |
Albums with charting songs
Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.
Featured on
Songs by other artists credited with Mavis Staples as a guest.
Year-end chart timeline
Combined year-end countdown points per year. Taller bars mean more songs placing higher across more stations.
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