Collaboration Week: Day 1. The Collaborators: Mavis Staples and Jeff Tweedy. The Album: You Are Not Alone.

It’s a collaboration celebration! Sometimes they work, sometimes they’re strange, but collaborations are almost always entertaining, and can be a great way to find music you were destined to love. My first introduction to Mavis Staples was the result of another collaboration – the Staples Singers performing with The Band in The Last Waltz – but I hadn’t sought out her solo music until Jeff Tweedy came into the picture. The Wilco frontman produced her latest album, You Are Not Alone, and even wrote two of the songs. It’s outstanding from start to finish, full of tenderness, soul, joy and a heaping helping of Jesus. Who knows if I would have given the album a chance without Mr. Tweedy’s involvement, but I’m deeply thankful these two got together. Check out title track “You Are Not Alone” below, and brace yourself for a heartwarming listening experience.