The 'five careers' of Bettye Lavette
Bettye Lavette was 16 when she had her first hit in 1962 and 47 years later she performed at Obama's inauguration. But the path from first hit to recognition has not been smooth.
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 kept her faith that the phone would always ring.
This interview was first broadcast on 30th September 2020.
Presenter: Emily Webb
Producer: Laura Thomas
Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707
(Photo: Bettye Lavette performs during the Robert Johnson At 100 Centennial celebration at The Apollo Theater, 6 March, 2012 in New York City. Credit: D Dipasupil/Getty Images)
Last on
![]()
Music makes the world go round
Stories of song and dance at the heart of people鈥檚 lives
Broadcasts
- Wed 1 Nov 2023 12:06GMT麻豆社 World Service
- Wed 1 Nov 2023 18:06GMT麻豆社 World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
- Wed 1 Nov 2023 23:06GMT麻豆社 World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Thu 2 Nov 2023 03:06GMT麻豆社 World Service
Contact Outlook
Info on how we might use your contribution on air
Podcast: Lives Less Ordinary
Step into someone else鈥檚 life and expect the unexpected