When Mavis Staples and Levon Helm met for some final music

NEW YORK — In the summer of 2011, two American iconic musicians met and jammed up a storm. The 12-track live album “Carry Me Home” is the long-awaited record of what happened when Grammy-winning soul and gospel star Mavis Staples visited her good friend Levon Helm, the Grammy-winning drummer and singer of The Band. “Getting to join that choir was truly one of the highlights so far that I’ve ever done for any singing I’ve ever done,” Amy Helm said. Together and impromptu, they started singing the spiritual “Didn’t It Rain.” Staples recalls the visit included walks in the countryside and the sharing of stories. The two were old friends, having met during the filming of The Band’s 1976 documentary “The Last Waltz.” Staples’ father had been impressed by The Band’s song “The Weight,” with its opening reference to Nazareth, a special gospel reference.