The "five careers" of Bettye Lavette
Bettye Lavette had her first hit song, "My Man," in 1962 when she was just 16, but it took her five decades to get the recognition she deserved as a singer.
Bettye Lavette was a 16-year-old growing up in Detroit when she had her first hit, My Man, in 1962. In 2009 she performed at President Obama's inauguration celebration and called it "the greatest day of my life." But the path from that first hit to the recognition she now enjoys around the world has not been smooth. She talks to Emily Webb about how she spent the intervening years "working, not waiting," and how she kept her faith that the phone would always ring.
Picture: Betty Lavette performs during the Robert Johnson At 100 Centennial celebration at The Apollo Theater on March 6, 2012 in New York City
Credit: Getty Images / FilmMagic / D Dipasupil
Last on
Broadcasts
- Sun 27 Dec 2020 09:32GMTΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ World Service
- Sun 27 Dec 2020 22:32GMTΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
Contact Outlook
Info on how we might use your contribution on air
Podcast: Lives Less Ordinary
Step into someone elseβs life and expect the unexpected