Mavis Staples

For six decades Mavis Staples has been the solid rock of American music. Alongside the family group she is so identified with, the Staple Singers, Mavis has managed to transform herself as she goes – from the delta-inflected gospel sound she helped create in the 1950s (“Uncloudy Day”), to the engaged protest of the civil rights era (“Freedom Highway”), to a series of chart hits on 1970s pop radio (“I’ll Take You There,” “Respect Yourself,” “Lets Do It Again”), and now to two albums with Wilco leader Jeff Tweedy acting as her producer. On their second collaboration, the Grammy-nominated 2013 album “One True Vine,” they have crafted a gospel album for the 21st century. Her previous album, the Tweedy-produced “You Are Not Alone,” won the Grammy Award for Best Americana Album in 2011, adding a remarkable new chapter to an already historic career.