Bettye LaVette (born Betty Haskins on January 29, 1946) is an American soul singer-songwriter who cut her first record at sixteen, but achieved only intermittent fame until her 2005 record, I've Got My Own Hell to Raise. Her style combines elements of soul, blues, rock, funk, gospel, and country, which has prevented her from being easily marketed.
LaVette was born in Muskegon, Michigan, and raised in Detroit.Unlike many of her contemporaries, she...
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Bettye LaVette (born Betty Haskins on January 29, 1946) is an American soul singer-songwriter who cut her first record at sixteen, but achieved only intermittent fame until her 2005 record, I've Got My Own Hell to Raise. Her style combines elements of soul, blues, rock, funk, gospel, and country, which has prevented her from being easily marketed.
LaVette was born in Muskegon, Michigan, and raised in Detroit.Unlike many of her contemporaries, she did not begin singing in the church, but in her parent's living room, singing R&B; and C&W.; She was signed by Johnnie Mae Matthews, a local record producer. In 1962, aged sixteen, she recorded a single, "My Man - He's a Lovin' Man", with Matthews, which became a Top Ten R&B; hit after Atlantic Records bought distribution rights. This led to a tour with rhythm and blues musicians Clyde McPhatter, Ben E. King, Barbara Lynn, and then-newcomer Otis Redding.
She next hit the charts with “Let Me Down Easy” on Calla in 1965. It is considered by...
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