Bettye Lavette - Let Me Down Easy (Jools Annual Hootenanny 2013)

Bettye Lavette (betty Jo Haskins) was born in1946 is Muskegon Michigan and raised in Detroit. She learned to sing in her parent's home and by 16 had made her first single which was picked up by Atlantic Records and it became a major hit. She toured with some top Atlantic stars like Barbara Lynn and Otis Redding. She signed briefly with Motown and went to Nashville to record for them. Then followed a 6 year period where she did not record but starred in a Broadway production " Bubbling Brown Sugar". Around 2000 some earlier unpublished work with Atlantic was picked up by French and Dutch companies and by 2005 her career really took off winning Comeback Blues album of the year. She has shared the stage with sir Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and Jon Bon Jovi. In 2010 she published her British Rock Songbook. A tribute to Bob Dylan followed. She has been nominated for many awards in the Blues category and has appeared on many prime time TV shows.In 2013 and 2014 she was on Jools Holland's New Year Hootenanny. in 2018 she was inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in 2020was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame. She was Soul Blues Female Artist of the Year in 2021, at the age of 75. She is married to Kevin Kiley a musician and antiques dealer. They live in West Orange N.J.