tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2640128943189703294.post4789699857479804671..comments2023-06-12T16:22:53.660+02:00Comments on The Soul Shack: Bettye LaVette; Criminally HonestSoulBoogieAlexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374913186932783284noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2640128943189703294.post-24999355457149713322007-11-09T13:55:00.000+01:002007-11-09T13:55:00.000+01:00Wow... This is such a wonderful blog... so full of...Wow... <BR/><BR/>This is such a wonderful blog... so full of great information...<BR/><BR/>Thanks for your hard work!!Ginahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05904849014833608529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2640128943189703294.post-62368728965677036582007-11-09T00:35:00.000+01:002007-11-09T00:35:00.000+01:00It's funny how everybody is trying to figure out w...It's funny how everybody is trying to figure out <I>why</I> <B>Bettye LaVette</B> didn't make it as big as her peers in the 60s. Who knows? She could <I>certainly</I> outsing the lot of them, but Motown wasn't interested in her or <B>Aretha Franklin</B> because Franklin was "too churchy" and LaVette was "too hard" for what <B>Berry Gordy</B> had in mind for his company.<BR/><BR/>LaVette got some bad advise by people who should have known better. Here she was, 16 years old, signed to a hot record label, Atlantic Records, and she's advised (after her manager is killed) to "get out of that contract. No matter what the executives say." So, she followed the advise of her Detroit elders and went back to Michigan. Big mistake.<BR/><BR/>I was a fan from the first time I heard her sing. I kept on buying anything she brought out and when I made tapes for parties, Bettye was always included.<BR/><BR/>She was always a fierce singer. What she did with her voice, nobody else was doing. It was, as Aretha puts it, "deep and greasy." Bettye has said that she lived in the shadows of <B>Etta James</B> for over 30 years. But, I think Bettye was a better singer, even though I love Etta very much. Bettye's soul is so deep, it would take 40 years to dig deep enough to get to the core.<BR/><BR/>I'm just thrilled that the world has <I>finally</I> caught up with the rest of us who have been there (and never left) from the start, cheering her on.<BR/><BR/>Now, she's getting her due. There <I>is</I> a God. <BR/><BR/><B>AND NOW, THE GRAMMYS!!!</B>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com