Mavis Staples, Win Butler Cover The Band

By Chuck Sudo in Arts & Entertainment on Aug 15, 2011 9:25PM

There are some kickass covers of The Band's classic "The Weight" floating around. Aretha Franklin (with Duane Allman on slide guitar) comes to mind. So does the slow burning version by jazz singer Cassandra Wilson, who's one of the headliners for this year's Jazz Fest.

Mavis Staples is no stranger to "The Weight." The Staples Singers' collaboration of the song with The Band's in their 1977 concert film The Last Waltz is an instant classic; the song has been Staples's ever since. Staples recently played the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival, where she was joined by The Arcade Fire's Win Butler for a duet on "The Weight."