- News & Reviews FeedBettye LaVette
Biography
There are ‘secrets' and ‘best kept secrets' and had it not been for a fortuitous performance at a tiny San Francisco nightclub, Michigan-born Bettye LaVette might have remained in the latter category, save for a strong and loyal European following she began creating a few decades ago. That emotion-filled show some three years ago led to Bettye's signing to the Rosebud Agency, a slate of work within the U.S. and a new recording contract with - of all things - a label best known for its punk rock roster! In fact, since the 2005 release of her Anti Records critically-acclaimed "I've Got My Own Hell To Raise" CD, Bettye LaVette has appeared on "The David Letterman Show," received glowing reviews from "The Wall Street Journal" and "The Los Angeles Times" among dozens of publications and toured virtually non-stop for over a year.
As Bettye says, singing has been all she's ever done to earn a living and even when times were tough, she never gave up on her chosen profession and almost forty-five years after her first Atlantic charted single - 1962's "My Man - He's A Lovin' Man," Bettye LaVette is finally reaping the rewards for dues truly paid in full. First achieving local success as a teenager in Detroit, Bettye's initial national chart run in late '62 was followed by a stint on the road with the Don Gardner & Dee Dee Ford revue and a contract with Calla Records.
It was at Calla that Bettye cut the deep soul classic "Let Me Down Easy," considered by many as one of the most emotional performances ever recorded, the single that began a longtime love affair with European R&B music lovers and for many years, the highpoint of her intense live performances.
Bettye recorded for a number of other labels (including Silver Fox, SSS International and Epic) and enjoyed some measure of chart success: a brief return to Atlantic resulted in the album "Child Of The ‘70s," finally released - after years in the vaults - on a French label in 2001 and reissued in 2006 via Rhino Handmade. In 1982, Bettye scored a Top 40 R&B hit with "Right In The Middle (Of Falling In Love)" for Motown as well as appearing in the Broadway musical, "Bubblin' Brown Sugar." She spent the next two decades essentially performing in Europe, where she recorded a live album in 2000 and in 2003 album, "A Woman Like Me" garnered Bettye a W.C. Handy Award. In 2006 she was selected as a 2006 R&B Foundation Pioneer Awardee.
Contributed by David Nathan
Available Music
 Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook |
 I've Got My Own... |
Click on CD cover to listen or purchase
Video
Comments
Soul Is Back With A Vengeance! Bettye LaVette!!!
O.P. - September 23rd, 2007
Bettye LaVette's "comeback" is not like countless others who once had fame, lost it, and came back with one hit record, then slipped back into obscurity. She decided to take her rightful place along side the legends of soul music. And, she's back to stay.
To see her perform harks back to the "old days," when an artist would hit the stage (alone), stand before a mic and "sang" their butt off! They didn't need 20 dancers prancing behind them, fireworks or rappers coming out to "help" with the act. Aretha Franklin's only "help" came from a piano, Bettye's was a band filled with funky musicians. I knew when I first heard Bettye that she was in a league with Aretha, though different, for they had their OWN styles.
Today, onstage, LaVette hits the stage like a bomb has exploded. She sings pure soul, dances, shouts and even screams when the emotion is too much to bear. Her audiences are left exhausted, exhilerated and ultimately happy they decided to come.
To see her is to become addicted. In this day and age where every female "singer" has the same act: singing a little, pracing across the stage, posing and dancing with her backup dancers, Bettye is refreshing. She's a singer who knows her stuff and is determined to put on a great show. That kind of discipline partially came from appearing on the legit stage, knowing that the audience has never seen this production and they have the right to see a first-class performance. LaVette never wavers from that view.
As one of her biggest fans, if she comes to your town, don't hesitate to see her.
___________________________________________
"Respect -- when you give it, you get it" (Aretha Franklin)
