In 1962, at the age of sixteen, Bettye LaVette was invited to record her first single at Johnnie Mae Matthews’ legendary Detroit studio. “My Man, He’s a Loving Man” hit number seven on the R&B charts, and a career was born. National tours with Otis Redding and James Brown followed, along with recordings made in Memphis and Muscle Shoals. Though her fame never caught up with her talent, LaVette worked steadily on the fringes of the music world, buoyed by a cult following. She carries the grit of these lean years as a soul music survivor in her fierce and singular alto.
“This is soul singing at its rawest and most persuasive,” proclaims The New York Times. At last, LaVette is getting her due, with a creative resurgence that began ten years ago when she teamed with producer and songwriter Joe Henry for her album I’ve Got My Own Hell To Raise. LaVette’s 2015 follow-up effort with Henry, Worthy, features tunes by Bob Dylan, Keith Richards, and Mickey Newberry, a repertoire she brings to Baldwin Auditorium alongside favorites from her five decades in R&B.