Thankful N' Thoughtful Bettye LaVette

• 1 Everything Is Broken 03:44
• 2 I'm Not The One 03:34
• 3 Dirty Old Town 03:55
• 4 The More I Search 04:22
• 5 I'm Tired 03:19
• 6 Crazy 05:47
• 7 Yesterday Is Here 03:38
• 8 Thankful N' Thoughtful 04:21
• 9 Fair Enough 03:16
• 10 Time Will Do The Talking 04:05
• 11 Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere 03:20
• 12 Dirty Old Town 06:59
• 13 Old 04:36
• 14 Welcome To The Good Times 03:53
• 15 Whole Lotta Lonely 04:20
• Total Runtime 01:03:09

Info for Thankful N' Thoughtful

1962 hatte sie ihren ersten Hit: 'My Man - He s A Lovin Man'. Da war sie 16 Jahre alt. 2012 feiert Betty LaVette ihr 50-jähriges Bühnenjubiläum und zeigt sich 'Thankful n Thoughtful'. So jedenfalls heißt das von Craig Street (u. a. Norah Jones, John Legend) produzierte Jubiläumsalbum. Eine Sammlung von Coverversionen von Songs von u. a. Bob Dylan, den Black Keys, Tom Waits, Neil Young und Gnarls Barkley. Doch sind dies nicht nur Coverversionen. Bettye LaVette füllt sie mit neuem Leben, mit ihren ganz eigenen Erfahrungen, mit Leidenschaft, Verlangen, Sehnsucht, Wut und Verzweiflung, mit Überlebenswillen und Siegesgewissheit. Ihre Stimme ist rauer, aber auch zärtlicher geworden, sensibler. Dylans 'Everything Is Broken' scheint so zu einem leicht angefunkten Zustandsbericht ihrer selbst zu werden, Gnarls Barkleys 'Crazy' verlangsamt sie, um dann jeden Tropfen Schweiß und Blut auszuwringen, und 'Dirty Old Town' wird zum Schwanengesang auf ihre Heimatstadt Detroit. Eine Interpretin auf der Höhe ihrer Zeit.

'Das Backing beschränkt sich aufs Nötigste, lässt den Melodien und dem Zauber von LaVettes Gänsehaut-Vocals Raum sich zu entfalten.' (musikexpress)

'Die Stimme ist expressiv wie eh und je, die 66-Jährige zieht alle Register von Schmerz, Abschied und Trauer.' (Audio)

Bettye LaVette, vocals
Chris Bruce, guitar
Jonathan Wilson, guitar & banjo
Jennifer Condos, bass
JJ Johnson, drums & percussion
Glenn Patscha, piano, keyboards, vocals (on 'Crazy')
Doug Wieselman, reeds (on 'Yesterday Is Here')
Steven Bernstein, brass (on 'Yesterday Is Here')

Betty Jo Haskins
was born January 29,1946, in Muskegon, Michigan. The family moved to Detroit when she was six years old. Her parents sold corn liquor and her living room was oft-times visited by The Soul Stirrers, The Blind Boys of Mississippi, and many other traveling gospel groups of the day. Unlike many of her contemporaries, Bettye did not get her start in the church, but in that very same living room, where there was a jukebox, filled with the blues, country & western, and R&B records of the time. The "5" Royales, Dinah Washington, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Red Foley, ...these were her roots.

By 16, Betty Jo had become enamored with showbiz. She decided to change her name to something more dramatic. She knew a local groupie by the name of Sherma Lavett, liked the sound of the name, and thus, Betty LaVette was born. Singer Timmy Shaw brought her to Johnnie Mae Matthews, notorious Motor City record producer. Bettye's first single was "My Man - He’s a Loving Man.", in the fall of 1962. The record was quickly picked up by Atlantic for national distribution. The record charted #7 R&B and put her on her first national tour, with Ben E. King, Clyde McPhatter, and another newcomer, Otis Redding. After a brief spell at Detroit's Lupine label, Bettye went back to New York and became the featured singer in the Don Gardner & Dee Dee Ford Review, where their Small's Paradise shows became the talk of the town. Her association with Don and Dee Dee spawned her next big record, for the Calla label. "Let Me Down Easy", written by Dee Dee Ford, was an atmospheric masterpiece. Bettye's pleading voice, set against the moody string arrangement by Dale Warren produced a record that is on many "greatest soul songs of all time" lists. It went # 20 R&B in 1965 and led to an appearance on the television show, Shindig. It also put her on a tour with The James Brown Review. More, please visit the homepage: www.bettyelavette.com

Booklet for Thankful N' Thoughtful