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A perennial cult favorite in Northern soul circles, singer Bettye LaVette was born in Muskegon, MI, on January 29, 1946. Raised primarily across the state in Detroit, at 16 she cut her first sides for the local Lupine label, with a test pressing of the disc making its way to Atlantic Records. After signing with Atlantic, she scored an R&B Top Ten hit out of the box with her debut single, "My Man � He's a Loving Man," only to fail to reach the same commercial heights again. After one more Atlantic release, 1963's "You'll Never Change," LaVette moved back to Lupine for her third record, "Witchcraft in the Air." After a stint as a featured vocalist with the Don Gardner & Dee Dee Ford Revue, she recorded the long-unreleased "One Thin Dime" for Scepter before resurfacing on Calla with the 1965 lost classic "Let Me Down Easy," her only other record to crack the R&B Top 20. Two more Calla efforts � the fine "Only Your Love Can Save Me" and "I'm Just a Fool for You" � preceded a shift to Big Wheel, where after just one single, "I'm Holding On," LaVette again moved along, this time to the Karen imprint for "Hey Love."
Following stays at Silver Fox ("He Made a Woman Out of Me," "Do Your Duty"), SSS International ("Take Another Piece of My Heart"), and her own TCA imprint ("Never My Love"), LaVette returned to Atlantic, signing to their Atco division for 1972's Neil Young cover "Heart of Gold." An LP, Child of the Seventies, was also recorded at Muscle Shoals Studios, but Atco opted against its release after the failure of the single "Your Turn to Cry" (the album was reissued, complete with bonus tracks, in limited copies by Rhino in 2006). After joining the touring company of the Broadway musical Bubbling Brown Sugar, LaVette briefly signed to West End for a disco effort, 1978's "Doin' the Best I Can."
She did not record again until 1982, landing at Motown and rechristening herself "Bettye." However, despite a heavy promotional push, neither the LP Tell Me a Lie nor the single "Right in the Middle (Of Falling in Love)" proved her long-awaited chart breakthrough, and outside of a handful of recordings for Motor City during the 1990s, she focused primarily on live appearances in the years to follow. The 2000s found her in the recording studio more frequently with new albums A Woman Like Me being released by the Blues Express label in 2003 followed by I've Got My Own Hell to Raise in 2005 on the Anti label. In 2006, Take Another Little Piece of My Heart, a collection of Silver Fox singles as well as other material, all of which had been recorded in Memphis between 1969 and 1970, came out on Var�se Sarabande. The Scene of the Crime appeared on Anti in 2007.
-- by Jason Ankeny of All Music Guide.
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01. Right In The Middle(of falling in love) 02. Either Way We Love 03. Suspicions 04. You Seen One, You Seen 'Em All 05. I Heard It Through The Grapevine |
06. Tell Me A Lie 07. I Like It Like That 08. Before I Even Knew Your Name 09. I Can't Stop 10. If I Were Your woman |
01. My Man 02. Damn Your Eyes 03. Right In The Middle(of falling in love) 04. You'll Never Change 05. Almost |
06. Your Turn To Cry 07. You Made A Woman Out Of Me 08. Let Me Down Easy |
01. Serves Him Right 02. The Forecast 03. Thru The winter 04. Right Next Door 05. When The Blues Catch Up To You 06. Thinking 'Bout You |
07. A Woman Like Me 08. It Ain't Worth It After A While 09. When A Woman's Had Enough 10. Salt On My Wounds 11. Close As I'll Get To Heaven 12. Hey, Hey Baby(Bettye's blues) |
01. I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got 02. Joy 03. Down To Zero 04. The High Road 05. On The Surface |
06. Just Say So 07. Little Sparrow 08. How Am I Different 09. Only Time Will Tell Me 10. Sleep To Dream |
01. At The Mercy Of A Man 02. Do Your Duty 03. Easier To Say Than Do 04. Games People Play 05. He Made A Woman Out Of Me 06. I'm In Love 07. Hello Sunshine |
08. Love Made A Fool Of Me 09. My Train's Coming In 10. Nearer To You 11. We Got To Slip Around 12. Piece Of My Heart 13. Let's Go, Let's Go, Let's Go |
01. I Still Want To Be Your Baby 02. Choices 03. Jealousy 04. You Don't Know Me At All 05. Somebody Pick Up My Pieces |
06. They Call It Love 07. The Last Time 08. Talking Old Soldiers 09. Before The Money Came 10. I Guess We Shouldn't Talk About That Now |
01. He Made A Woman Out Of Me 02. Do Your Duty 03. We Got To Slip Around 04. Piece Of My Heart 05. Easier To Say Than Do 06. My Train's Coming In |
07. At The Mercy Of A Man 08. Let Me Down Easy 09. Games People Play 10. Nearer To You 11. Love's Made A Fool Of Me 12. I'm In Love |
01. Change Is Gonna Come 02. 'Round Midnight 03. God Bless the Child |
04. Lush Life 05. Ain't No Sunshine 06. Ain't That Lovin' You Baby |