Mavis Staples & Bettye LaVette October 9, 2010

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and soul/gospel legend Mavis Staples delivers wall-to-wall joy on her triumphant new album, You Are Not Alone. Produced by Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, the album features the iconic singer at her most powerful and fervent. You Are Not Alone mixes traditional gospel numbers with two new songs written for Mavis by Tweedy, plus her unique interpretations of songs by Pops Staples, Randy Newman, Allen Toussaint, John Fogerty, Rev. Gary Davis and Little Milton.

After four decades toiling in the record business with little more than a fervent cult following to show for it, "the Great Lady of Soul" Bettye LaVette is finally enjoying her hard-earned spotlight. In high-profile performances at Obama's inaugural concert and the Kennedy Center Honors, as well as on albums such as Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook and The Scene of the Crime, LaVette serves as a forceful, timely reminder that soul thrives on the singer and not the song - she doesn't so much cover songs as reinvent them from the inside out.