Josh Turner‘s upcoming Country State of Mind album, which comes out on August 21, includes collaborations with some of his favorite singers, including Randy Travis. The Country Music Hall of Fame member joins Josh on his classic hit, “Forever and Ever, Amen,” singing the signature last note. Randy, who lost his ability to sing as a result of his stroke in 2013, has joined other artists for live versions of the song, but his version with Josh marks the first time in seven years that Randy has returned to the studio — a milestone Josh doesn’t take lightly.

“Randy and I have been friends for a long time,” Josh shared with Everything Nash and other outlets. “It was an easy call to make, to have him come over and sing on this record. The only thing that I was really thinking about as far as Randy coming in and singing was the fact that I had been at different events and shows around Nashville, where some artist or songwriter would come out and sing ‘Forever and Ever, Amen,’ and Randy would come out and sing the last word, and the crowd would just go crazy.  And so when it came time to make this record, I started thinking that I can sing just about any Randy Travis song there is, but I wanted to go with ‘Forever and Ever, Amen’ for a couple of reasons.

“One, it’s his signature song,” he continued. “And two, I wanted to kind of recreate what I had seen live on the record. So that’s what we did. I gave Randy the option of singing more than just the last word of the song, but he was like, ‘Nope!’ So Randy Travis literally got the last word. And then when I realized that this was the first time he had been in another studio since a stroke, that was when I realized that we had made history and it was a pretty emotional, bittersweet moment. It was good for him and everybody involved.”

Randy just released a new track, “Fool’s Love Affair,” which was recorded in the early days of his career and only recently discovered. While he hasn’t been able to work on new music in the last seven years, Randy’s wife, Mary, is optimistic about his future.

“When we left the hospital in November 2013, they said, ‘Well, you know, he’s going to be bedridden the rest of his life. And you will be in and out of hospitals the rest of his life. So this is a huge task that you’re taking on,’” Mary recalled to Rolling Stone. “I said, ‘I don’t mind that… and I don’t believe it.’ He got to the point where he pretty much shut down as far as going through the rehab because it does get tedious.

“When there’s that much damage done, you take tiny baby steps,” she continued. “There are plateaus — you’ll see a spurt of improvement, then it’ll flatline for a while and you’re just kind of at a plateau, and then you’ll see another improvement and every little thing is such a huge thing.”

Country State of Mind also includes collaborations with Kris Kristofferson, John Anderson, Runaway June and more. The record is available for pre-order via Josh’s website.