Kevin Morby pulled no punches when describing hearing Mavis Staples‘ cover of his song, “Beautiful Stranger,” on her new album, Sad and Beautiful World. “Mavis also wields that extremely rare power to take a song somebody else wrote and make it entirely her own,” said Morby. “As the person who penned ‘Beautiful Strangers,’ I feel I have every right to say; her version is better.”
The song was released in anticipation of Staples’ new record, out November 7th. The album also features covers of songs by Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen and Frank Ocean among others.
Morby wrote “Beautiful Stranger” in 2016, as his way of trying to make sense of the violence at places of joy, including the Bataclan in Paris and the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando. Morby also name checks Freddie Gray, the Baltimore man killed by police in 2015.
“Hearing Mavis sing ‘Beautiful Strangers’ is hands down the greatest moment and highest honor of my career,” said Morby in a press release. “Far beyond any kind of accolade or acclaim—having one of my biggest heroes sing something I wrote is the most validating and flattering thing that could ever happen to me as a songwriter and person. Thank you, Mavis.”
