Don't Lose This

In 1998, Roebuck "Pops" Staples recorded a final session, capping an illustrious career as leader and patriarch of the Staples Singers. Unfinished at the time of his passing in 2000, the tapes went to his daughter, Mavis, who then waited for the right opportunity to finish the recording in the spirit Pops intended. When she began her series of remarkable collaborations with Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, starting with 2010's You Are Not Alone and continuing with 2013's One True Vine, Mavis knew she had found the person to work on her father's record. Mavis Staples: "I chose this title because these were the words my father said to me as he gave me the tape of his final recordings. He was sick and lying in bed and asked me to play the record for him in his room. After listening to it, he called me to his room again. He was weak, but he handed me the tape and in a soft voice said 'Don't lose this, Mavis.' While Pops' voice and guitar sounded so good on the original recordings [and remain untouched on this record], I knew the songs needed something else to really come to life. Something special. Pops deserved that. So I called on my dear friend Jeff Tweedy to fill out the tracks around Pops and he's helped to craft this beautiful album."