Rock and Roll Sound Check: Bettye LaVette

Interview with singer-songwriter Bettye Lavette who performed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's American Masters Series tribute to Janis Joplin.

Bettye LaVette is an American soul singer-songwriter who recorded her first record at sixteen, but achieved only intermittent fame until 2005, with her album, I've Got My Own Hell to Raise. Her eclectic musical style combines elements of soul, blues, rock and roll, funk, gospel, and country music, which has prevented her from being easily marketed.

After recording several 45 rpm singles for local Detroit labels, in 1969 Bettye signed to the Silver Fox label. 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 with Atlantic/Atco. She was sent to Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Alabama to record what was to be her first full length album. Titled Child of the Seventies, it was produced by Brad Shapiro and featured the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, now known as The Swampers. The mid 70s saw a brief stint and two 45s with Epic, and in 1978 she released the disco smash "Doin' The Best That I Can".

In 1982, she was signed by her hometown label, Motown, and sent to Nashville to record. The resulting LP, titled Tell 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 the Broadway smash Bubbling Brown Sugar, appearing alongside both Honi Coles and Cab Calloway.

After LaVette had played her own personal mono recordings of Child of the Seventies for Gilles Petard, a French soul music collector, he requested to look for the master recordings at Atlantic, whose personnel had previously thought they had been lost in a fire some years back.  In 1999, he finally discovered the masters and then licensed the album from Atlantic and released it in 2000 as Souvenirs on his Art and Soul label.
After being signed to The Rosebud Agency for live bookings, Rosebud president Mike Kappus brought her to the attention of Anti- Records president, Andy Kaulkin. Upon seeing Bettye perform, Kaulkin signed her to a three record deal. For the first project, he paired her with Grammy Award winning producer Joe 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.

In 2006, capitalizing on the success of "I've Got My Own Hell To Raise" and the reviews of her live shows,Child of the Seventies was reissued by Rhino Handmade with some previously unreleased tracks, which was met with critical acclaim. Varese Sarabande then issued "Take 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 3 unreleased tracks as well as two duets with Hank Ballard. Also in 2006, she received a well-deserved "Pioneer Award" from The Rhythm and Blues Foundation.

Her 2007 album, The Scene of the Crime, was mostly recorded at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama with alt-rockers Drive-By Truckers. On it, she transforms country and rock songs written by Willie Nelson, Elton John, and Don Henley, among others, into devastating mini-dramas. She recorded Child of the Seventies not at FAME but at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, which ceased operation in 2005. LaVette talks about her experiences at Muscle Shoals Sound and FAME in an interview conducted by Edd Hurt in September 2007.  Rock/alt-country outfit Drive-By Truckers served as the back-up band for the album. Drive-By Truckers frontman, Patterson Hood, produced the album alongside LaVette.

In 2008, she received a BMA (Blues Music Award) for "Best Contemporary Female Blues Singer". 2008 also saw Reel Music re-issue on CD her Motown LP, Tell Me A Lie. The CD contains the original cover design that was not used when the album was released. In December 2008 at the Kennedy Center Honors, LaVette delivered a rendition of 1973's "Love, Reign o'er Me" in tribute to Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend of The Who, who were among the year's honorees. The performance was widely considered one of the event's highlights. 

On January 18, 2009, she performed a duet at the We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial on Sam Cooke's 1964 song "A Change Is Gonna Come" with Jon Bon Jovi. In April 2009 she shared the stage with Sir Paul McCartney & Ringo Starr at Radio City Music Hall for David Lynch's Change Begins Within benefit concert promoting teaching Transcendental Meditation to children in inner city schools.

For more about Bettye LaVette, please visit her website at: http://www.bettyelavette.com