Bettye Lavette

Bettye LaVette first rose to prominence as an R&B performer whose incisive and singular vocal approach blended emotional depth, raw power, and assured poise. Early hits gave way to decades spent as a revered yet niche favorite among devotees of classic soul, above all in Britain and continental Europe, until a broader American following embraced her anew during the 2000s. Endowed with a forceful yet transparent tone capable of conveying tenderness or delivering piercing impact, she seldom authors her own songs yet excels as an interpreter, infusing each number with her personal stamp while revealing overlooked layers within the composer’s intent. From the moment her debut 45 appeared on Lupine in 1962—“My Man -- He’s a Loving Man”—LaVette displayed both ingenuity and fervor as a singer, although her most distinctive interpretive instincts crystallized during the mature recordings that followed in the late sixties and beyond. Repeated clashes with record companies meant much of her finest material received scant exposure; one prime example, the outstanding album Child of the Seventies, languished unreleased for many years. The 2003 concert recording A Woman Like Me finally brought her to the attention of domestic soul aficionados, while the 2005 studio album I’ve Got My Own Hell to Raise presented her unfiltered artistry and confirmed her standing among the most commanding and astute soul vocalists then active. A string of widely praised releases ensued, many organized around specific themes: Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook in 2010, Things Have Changed in 2018 (centered on Bob Dylan compositions), and LaVette! in 2023 (containing eleven songs penned by Randall Bramblett).

Born Betty Jo Haskins on January 29, 1946, in Muskegon, Michigan, LaVette moved with her family to Detroit at age six, where her parents supplemented their income by selling bootleg liquor. The household frequently hosted touring R&B and gospel artists, and a jukebox stocked with blues, R&B, and country 45s ignited her ambition to perform. By sixteen she possessed sufficient vocal command to pursue a professional career; an introduction to producer Johnnie Mae Matthews led to a contract with the regional Lupine label. Finding the name Betty Jo Haskins insufficiently distinctive, Matthews suggested Bettye LaVette, adopting the surname from an acquaintance, Sherma Lavette. The first Lupine single, “My Man -- He’s a Loving Man” backed with “Shut Your Mouth,” was still being test-pressed when an Atlantic A&R executive heard it and arranged national distribution. The record climbed to number seven on the R&B Singles chart in 1962, positioning LaVette for wider success; she joined a package tour headlined by Ben E. King and Clyde McPhatter. The follow-up, 1963’s “You’ll Never Change” b/w “Here I Am,” failed to chart, returning her to Lupine for another release that year—“Witchcraft in the Air” b/w “You Killed the Love”—before she joined the Don Gardner & Dee Dee Ford Revue on the road. True to a recurring pattern, a 1964 single recorded for Scepter went unreleased; she then moved to Calla, where the 1965 pairing “Let Me Down Easy” b/w “What I Don’t Know (Won’t Hurt Me)” returned her to the R&B charts, peaking at number twenty.

Two additional Calla singles (plus numerous unissued sides) preceded a lone 1966 release on Big Wheel; four Karen singles followed between 1968 and 1969. One of those Karen tracks, a version of Kenny Rogers & the First Edition’s “What Condition My Condition Is In,” caught Kenny Rogers’s ear and prompted his brother Lelan Rogers to produce sessions that secured a deal with Shelby Singleton’s Silver Fox and SSS International imprints. Six singles emerged, two of which—“He Made a Woman Out of Me” b/w “Nearer to You” in 1969 and “Do Your Duty” b/w “Love’s Made a Fool Out of Me” in 1970—reached the R&B Top 40. An album was also completed, yet a business dispute between Singleton and Rogers left it on the shelf. After issuing a single on her own TCA label, LaVette signed with Atlantic’s Atco subsidiary and recorded a cover of Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold” in 1972. Work began on a full album produced by Brad Shapiro at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios with the Dixie Flyers; convinced that Child of the Seventies would mark a commercial and artistic breakthrough, she watched the project collapse when the advance single “Your Turn to Cry” b/w “Soul Tambourine” failed to chart and Atco abruptly withdrew support. Discouraged, she remained silent for two years before cutting a pair of low-profile singles for Epic. Dissatisfied with West End Records, she relinquished rights to a disco track; “Doin’ the Best I Can” nevertheless reached the Top 20 on the Dance chart in 1978 and sold over 100,000 copies.

Her fortunes improved when she joined the touring company of Bubbling Brown Sugar, portraying Sweet Georgia Brown for four years and learning to tap-dance for the role. The heightened visibility led to a Motown contract; Tell Me a Lie, released in 1982, became her first commercially available album. Two singles—“Right in the Middle of Falling in Love” and “I Can’t Stop”—both peaked at number 35 on the R&B chart, yet the departure of the executive who had signed her diminished promotional support and the album itself did not chart. In 1989 she recorded material for Britain’s Motor City label, but live work remained her primary focus, with regular Detroit appearances and a devoted following throughout Europe and the U.K.

Near the turn of the century her situation improved markedly. After playing her personal acetates of the Child of the Seventies sessions for Gilles Pétard of the French label Art & Soul, the unreleased masters were licensed and issued in 2000 as Souvenirs; Rhino later released them domestically in 2006 under the original title. A 2000 concert in Holland yielded the live album Let Me Down Easy: In Concert, further demonstrating her enduring ability. Expanded U.S. touring prompted the 2003 release A Woman Like Me, which garnered enthusiastic reviews and captured the W.C. Handy Award for Comeback Blues Album of the Year. Anti- Records then paired her with producer Joe Henry for 2005’s I’ve Got My Own Hell to Raise, a set of songs by female artists that appeared on numerous year-end Top Ten lists and established her as a major figure. Varèse Sarabande followed with the 2006 anthology Take Another Little Piece of My Heart, compiling her Silver Fox and SSS International recordings. In 2007 she entered the studio with the Drive-By Truckers for The Scene of the Crime, a country-tinged collection recorded at the same Muscle Shoals facility used for Child of the Seventies. Invited to perform the Who’s “Love, Reign O’er Me” at the 2008 Kennedy Center Honors, she drew inspiration for 2010’s Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook, which featured covers of songs by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Animals, Led Zeppelin, and others.

Marking fifty years as a recording artist, she issued the folk- and roots-oriented Thankful n’ Thoughtful in 2012, spotlighting material by the Black Keys, Sly Stone, Tom Waits, and Neil Young, among others, and also published her autobiography, A Woman Like Me. Reuniting with Joe Henry, she delivered Worthy in 2015 for Cherry Red. Signing with Verve, she released Things Have Changed in 2018, interpreting twelve Bob Dylan songs under producer Steve Jordan with Keith Richards guesting on “Political World.” Blackbirds followed in 2020, another conceptual project featuring songs by distinguished Black American female singers. She contributed vocals to Dave McMurray’s 2021 Grateful Deadication and appeared on ODESZA’s 2022 album The Last Goodbye. Returning to the studio with Steve Jordan for 2023’s LaVette! on the independent Jay-Vee imprint, she recorded eleven songs by Randall Bramblett with contributions from John Mayer, Jon Batiste, Ray Parker, Jr., and Steve Winwood.