Bettye LaVette
LaVette at Cosmopolite Scene inOslo in 2016
Background information
Birth name	Betty Jo Haskins
Born	(1946-01-29)January 29, 1946 (age 79) Muskegon, Michigan, U.S.
Genres	Soul,Blues,R&B,Funk, Rock,Country,Americana,Gospel
Occupation(s)	Singer, entertainer
Years active	1962–present
Labels	Atlantic,Calla, Silver Fox,Atco,Motown,Epic,Charly, Munich, Blues Express,ANTI-,Verve
Website	bettyelavette.com

Bettye LaVette (bornBetty Jo Haskins, January 29, 1946)^[1] is an Americansoul singer who made her first record at sixteen, but achieved only intermittent fame until 2005, when her albumI've Got My Own Hell to Raise was released to widespread critical acclaim, and was named on many critics' "Best of 2005" lists. Her next album,The Scene of the Crime, debuted at number one onBillboard's Top Blues Albums chart and was nominated for Best Contemporary Blues Album at the 2008 Grammy Awards. She received the Legacy of Americana Lifetime Achievement Award at the2023 Americana Music Honors & Awards.

LaVette's eclectic musical style combines elements ofsoul,blues,rock and roll,funk,gospel, andcountry music. In 2020, she was inducted into theBlues Hall of Fame.^[2]

LaVette was born inMuskegon, Michigan, and raised inDetroit.^[1] Unlike many of her contemporaries, she did not begin singing in the church, but in her parents' living room, singingR&B andcountry and western music. She was raised as aCatholic.^[3]

She was signed byJohnnie Mae Matthews, a local record producer. In 1962, aged sixteen, she recorded a single, "My Man – He's a Lovin' Man",^[4] with Matthews: the disc was credited to Betty LaVett, the surname being "borrowed" from Sherma Lavette Anderson, the singer's friend who had introduced her to Matthews.^[5] Picked up byAtlantic Records, LaVette's disc became a majorR&B hit over the fall and winter of 1963–64 – eventually reaching the R&B Top Ten – resulting in LaVette touring with such Atlantic Records R&B hitmakers asClyde McPhatter,Ben E. King,Barbara Lynn, and rising starOtis Redding.

After two overlooked single releases in respectively 1963 and 1964, LaVette in 1965 returned to the R&B charts with "Let Me Down Easy" onCalla Records,^[4] her first release to be credited to Betty LaVette:^[6] the spelling of the singer's first name as Bettye would date from her 1977Bubbling Brown Sugar gig.^[7] Though only a peripheral success with an R&B chart peak of No. 48, "Let Me Down Easy" afforded LaVette sufficient cachet to briefly tour with TheJames Brown Revue. After recording several singles for local Detroit labels, LaVette signed to the Silver Fox label in 1969. She cut a handful of tracks, including two Top 40 R&B hits: "He Made A Woman Out Of Me" and "Do Your Duty". The Memphis studio musicians on these recordings have since become known as The Dixie Flyers. In 1972, she signed once again withAtlantic/Atco. She was sent toMuscle Shoals Sound Studio in Alabama to record what was to be her first album. TitledChild of the Seventies, it was produced byBrad Shapiro and featured theMuscle Shoals Rhythm Section, now known as The Swampers, but Atco chose not to issue the album.

The mid-1970s saw a brief stint and two 45s with Epic, and in 1978 LaVette released thedisco smash onWest End Records "Doin' The Best That I Can". In 1982, she was signed by her hometown label,Motown, and sent toNashville to record. The resulting LP (her first album actually issued), titledTell Me A Lie, was produced by Steve Buckingham. The first single, "Right In The Middle (Of Falling In Love)", hit the R&B Top 40. She briefly gave up recording for a six-year run in theBroadway smashBubbling Brown Sugar,^[1] appearing alongsideHoni Coles andCab Calloway.

After LaVette had played her personal mono recordings ofChild of the Seventies for Gilles Petard, a French soul music collector, he sought themaster recordings at Atlantic, whose personnel had previously thought they had been lost in a fire some years back.^[8] In 1999, he finally discovered the masters and then licensed the album from Atlantic and released it in 2000 asSouvenirs on his Art and Soul label. At the same time,Let Me Down Easy – Live in Concert was issued by the Dutch Munich label. Both albums sparked a renewed interest in LaVette and in 2003,A Woman Like Me (produced by Dennis Walker) was released. The CD won the 2004W. C. Handy Award for "Comeback Blues Album of the Year". In an interview, LaVette identifiedA Woman Like Me as the first album in the second phase of her career and said her 2012 autobiography was named after the album.^[9]

After she was signed to The Rosebud Agency for live bookings, Rosebud presidentMike Kappus brought her to the attention ofANTI- presidentAndy Kaulkin. Upon seeing LaVette perform, Kaulkin signed her to a three-record deal. For the first project, he paired her withJoe Henry, and suggested an album of songs written entirely by women. The resulting CD,I've Got My Own Hell to Raise, was on many critics' "Best of 2005" lists. The title is taken from the lyrics ofFiona Apple's 1996 hit "Sleep to Dream", which is covered on the album. (Other notable songwriters on the album wereAimee Mann,Sinéad O'Connor,Lucinda Williams,Joan Armatrading, andDolly Parton.)^[10] The album was released by ANTI- and produced by Joe Henry.

In 2006, capitalizing on the success ofI've Got My Own Hell To Raise and the reviews of her live shows,Child of the Seventies was reissued byRhino Handmade with some previously unreleased tracks. The album was met with critical acclaim.Varèse Sarabande then issuedTake Another Little Piece of My Heart, a CD containing all of the songs that she cut for Silver Fox and SSS International in 1969 and 1970. The CD included three unreleased tracks, as well as two duets withHank Ballard.

In 2006, LaVette received a "Pioneer Award" from theRhythm and Blues Foundation.

Her 2007 album,The Scene of the Crime, was mostly recorded atFAME Studios inMuscle Shoals, Alabama, withalt rockersDrive-By Truckers.The Scene of the Crime was nominated for aGrammy Award for "Best Contemporary Blues Album" and landed on numerous "Best of 2007" lists. LaVette talked about her experiences at Muscle Shoals Sound and FAME in an interview conducted by Edd Hurt in September 2007.^[11] Drive-By Truckers frontmanPatterson Hood produced the album together with LaVette. The album also features one song co-written by LaVette and Patterson Hood.^[10]

In 2008, she received a Blues Music Award for "Best Contemporary Female Blues Singer". Also in 2008, Reel Music re-issued on CD her Motown LP,Tell Me A Lie. The album contained the original cover design that was not used when the LP was released.

In December 2008 at theKennedy Center Honors, LaVette sang her version of 1973's "Love, Reign o'er Me" in tribute toRoger Daltrey andPete Townshend ofThe Who, who were among the year's honorees. The performance was widely considered one of the event's highlights.^[12]

On January 18, 2009, at theWe Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial she performed a duet ofSam Cooke's 1964 song "A Change Is Gonna Come" withJon Bon Jovi. In April 2009, she shared the stage withSir Paul McCartney andRingo Starr atRadio City Music Hall for theDavid Lynch Foundation's "Change Begins Within" benefit concert promoting teachingTranscendental Meditation to children in inner city schools. In 2009Sundazed released on CD the albumDo Your Duty, which consisted of her eleven solo tracks cut for Silver Fox and SSS International. In June 2009 a six-song EP,Change Is Gonna Come Sessions, was released as a download only.

In 2010, LaVette releasedInterpretations: The British Rock Songbook, which included unique arrangements and performances of classic songs by artists includingThe Beatles,The Rolling Stones,The Animals, andPink Floyd. Included is the complete unedited version of her Kennedy Center Honors performance of The Who's "Love, Reign O'er Me". The CD was critically acclaimed and nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album. She has appeared onNational Public Radio'sMountain Stage,World Cafe,All Things Considered andWait Wait... Don't Tell Me!. She has appeared in a Mississippi Public Broadcasting series,Blues Divas, and is in a film of the same name, both produced byRobert Mugge. She has also appeared onLate Night with David Letterman,Conan,The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson,The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,Austin City Limits,The Today Show,Good Morning America, andLive from the Artists Den. LaVette also joined the 9th^[13] 10th^[14] and 11th^[15] annual Independent Music Awards judging panel to assist independent musicians' careers.

LaVette contributed a cover of "Most of the Time" for the albumChimes of Freedom: The Songs ofBob Dylan Honoring 50 Years ofAmnesty International. On December 31, 2012, she appeared in the UK onBBC Two'sJools Holland Annual Hootenanny. In 2013 and 2014, LaVette was nominated for aBlues Music Award in the "Contemporary Blues Female Artist" category.^[16][17]

LaVette's albumWorthy was nominated for aGrammy Award in 2016 forBest Blues Album.^[18]

In 2016, LaVette won aBlues Music Award as the Soul Blues Female Artist of the Year.^[19]

On March 6, 2017, she took part in a benefit concert atCarnegie Hall celebrating the music ofAretha Franklin, whom she has known since 1962. Lavette performed a rendition of the song "Ain't No Way", which she mentioned was written by Carolyn Franklin, her younger sister, with whom Bettye was friends.^[20]

In 2017, LaVette appeared in the award-winning documentary filmThe American Epic Sessions. The film featured an interview between directorBernard MacMahon and LaVette in which they discussed her "heartfelt recollections of being pushed away from early blues as 'Uncle Tomish' in the '60s."^[21] Following the interview, LaVette recorded "Nobody's Dirt Business", a song by early blues musicianFrank Stokes,direct-to-disc on the firstelectrical sound recording system from the 1920s. A soundtrack for the film, entitledMusic from The American Epic Sessions, also featured a second song she recorded for the film, "When I Woke Up This Morning", which L. Kent Wolgamott in theLincoln Journal Star praised as "among its highlights."^[21]

In 2018, Bettye LaVette was inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame.^[22]

Her 2018 albumThings Have Changed, an album of all Bob Dylan songs, was nominated forBest Americana Album and the song "Don't Fall Apart On Me Tonight" was nominated forBest Traditional R&B Performance at the61st Annual Grammy Awards.^[23]

In May 2020, LaVette garnered another Blues Music Award in the "Soul Blues Female Artist of the Year" category.^[24] The same year, LaVette was inducted into theBlues Hall of Fame.^[2] On August 28, 2020, she released a new studio album,Blackbirds, which is an album of songs by women from the 1950s who were the "bridge she came across on".Blackbirds was nominated forBest Contemporary Blues Album at the63rd Annual Grammy Awards.

In 2021, Bettye again received the Blues Music Award for "Soul Blues Female Artist of the Year".

On February 8, 2022, LaVette's vocals from "Let Me Down Easy" were sampled as the focal point forOdesza's song, "The Last Goodbye".^[25]

LaVette is married to Kevin Kiley,^[8] a recorded music and antiques dealer who is also a singer and musician. They live inWest Orange, New Jersey.^[26]

• A Woman Like Me by Bettye Lavette with David Ritz (Blue Rider Press, New York 2012)^[31]

This article'suse ofexternal links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Pleaseimprove this article by removingexcessive orinappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate intofootnote references.(June 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

• Official website
• Bettye LaVette onANTI-
• Bettye LaVette atAllMusic
• Bettye LaVette atIMDb
• Articles and interviews
  • "Bettye LaVette: When the Blues Catch up to You" atCrawdaddy!
  • Bettye talks about her CD, The Scene of the Crime, at Soul Express
  • The Complete Bettye LaVette Story at Soul Express (2004)
  • Bettye LaVette talks about "Worthy" at Soul Express (January 2015)
  • Bettye LaVette 2015 Audio Interview atSoul Interviews
  • Bettye talks about her CDThings Have Changed at Soul Express
  • Bettye LaVette talks about herBlackbirds CD at Soul Express
  • Bettye LaVette, the producer Steve Jordan and the composer Randall Bramblett talk about the album "LaVette!"

• 1946 births
• 20th-century African-American women singers
• 20th-century American women singers
• 20th-century American singers
• 21st-century African-American women singers
• 21st-century American women singers
• African-American women singer-songwriters
• American women singer-songwriters
• American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters
• American soul singers
• Anti- (record label) artists
• Atco Records artists
• Living people
• Musicians from West Orange, New Jersey
• People from Muskegon, Michigan
• Singer-songwriters from Michigan
• Singers from New Jersey
• Singers from Detroit
• West End Records artists
• African-American Catholics

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