This is a story with many chapters.
Some of them nice.
Some of them not so nice.
All of it is required in order for you to have context.
And context is what you must have in order to understand.
Part of the bottom line is “culture banditry.”
But another part of it is “self-hatred.”
You may not be a fan of doo wop music.
You might be a jazz fan.
You might be a blues fan.
You might be an R&B fan.
You might be a hip hop fan.
You might be a Funk fan.
You might be a Rock n’ Roll fan.
But you should care about Doo Wop, even if you don’t like the music.
In my own case, not only do I care about it.
But I am an activist.
One of the reasons why I am an activist, is because I believe that history repeats itself. I believe that what happens to doo wop, will also happen to R&B, Jazz, Blues, Funk, Hip Hop, etc.
When I first envisioned what Soul-Patrol.com would be, I never thought for one single solitary moment that I would ever write anything on the website about doo wop.
Of course that was back when I was “young & dumb.”
That was long before I became friends with the Dells or the Flamingos or the Moonglows. Long before I ever met the Moments, Mandrill, Jimmy Castor. Long before I ever met Gary “Doo Wop” Shider of Funkadelic. Or his brother Tommy Shider of the Sheps.
“I was simply too young and too dumb to understand the historical connections between the Ink Spots, the Harptones and Grand Master Flash/Furious Five.“
And why this might just be the only place to connect those dots.
But an old lady from Pittsburgh knew it.
And she encouraged me to make those connections.
And I wrote about her when she passed away a few years ago in 2010…
Her name was BarbaraAnnPgh@aol.com
Subject: BarbaraAnnPgh@aol.com (“an old white lady from Pittsburgh”)
From: “Bob Davis” <earthjuice@prodigy.net>
Date: Sat, July 10, 2010 10:40 am
To: <soul-patrol@davisind.com>
——–
Few of the folks here knew Barbra Ann, but I did. I’ve known her for since the late 1990’s. I never met her in person, I only spoke with her once over the phone. A few days ago she passed away after a long bout with cancer. However I am “cc ing” her on this message. Yes, I am writing to BarbaraAnnPgh@aol.com just one last time. I know that she is reading this email…and that she will read it, even if it bounces back!!!
In some respects, she was just “an old white lady from Pittsburgh”.
However in reality, she was much more than that. She was in fact one of the pioneers of the Black Internet. That’s because she was one of the key people involved in the creation of a website called “Doo Wop Cafe”.
Barbara and I used to get into some fierce arguments via email about the music of the 1950’s and it’s current day representation. Although we didn’t always agree, Barbara knew how important it was for Soul-Patrol to be involved in Doo Wop music and she helped me as much as possible to that end.
“Yeah it’s your music, we took it, you guys didn’t want it, so we are taking good care of it till you decide that you want it back…”
And of course I said…”We want it back right now…”
Barbra Ann challenged me to not just talk about what I called “great black music from the anicent to the future.” She challenged me to actually “put my money where my mouth was” (le: put skin into the game,) and to get involved in it. She challenged me to become pro-active about doo wop. When I told her that I didn’t know how to get involved, Barbra Ann made sure that I knew where the shows were, contacts for the artists, etc.
I told her…”I’m a child of the 1970’s music, I don’t know anything about 1950’s music.”
And then she said…“Write about it anyhow Bob, you have no idea how much the artists need for YOU to write about them, it doesn’t do them any good for an old white lady from Pittsburgh to write about it, however it might actually change a few things if YOU write about them…”
And she was right…
Whenever I would show up at a Doo Wop concert, go backstage introduce myself to the artists, tell them why I was there, their eyes would light up, they would smile and tell me that they have been waiting for me to show up, in fact they said that they have been waiting for over 40 years for “ME” to show up.
And then they would tell me stories, stories that no white reporter/broadcaster will ever hear…And each time I would file a report, post it on the Soul-Patrol website, do a Doo Wop internet radio show, etc.
Barabra would write to me and say…”See, I told ya that it’s important for YOU to talk to these artists and report on their activities…”
Today Soul-Patrol.com has a major presence on the current Doo Wop scene and some of that is due to BarbaraAnnPgh@aol.com CHALLENGING ME TO DO WHAT KNEE-GRO MEDIA HAS FAILED TO DO, AND CONTINUES TO FAIL TO DO.
HONOR IT’S OWN
Yeah, so perhaps she was just “an old white lady from Pittsburgh.” But she left a legacy. And today I just wanted to say a few words about her…
—————–
Bob Davis
Dr. King on behalf of my brothers and sisters I apologize for our behavior.
I’m sure that on this day back in 1968 when you lay on that balcony – mortally wounded – surrounded by Benedict Arnold turncoat race traitors within your inner circle – race traitors who were complicit in your shooting – I’m sure you never imagined that 44 years on from that fateful day (April 4th) that we would be openly calling each other NIGGER and have the whole world singing along, having convinced ourselves it’s a term of endearment.
I apologize for the historical amnesia that so many of us labor under. We have no knowledge of ourselves, of the pain and suffering that our forefathers and foremothers went through as well as the day to day struggle but we can recount at the drop of a hat how Chris Brown beat Rhiannas ass.
I apologize for the fact that you went to prison on behalf of our struggle and it inspired you to write the classic, LETTERS FROM A BIRMINGHAM JAIL” – nowadays artists go to jail and it inspires nothing but a spike in their CD sales.
Dr. King I apologize because seemingly we have learned nothing and as a result we are doomed to repeat a lot of the same mistakes. We are still behaving like crabs in a barrel…if one of us makes it up the rest of us try to pull him/her back down. Your assassins were more unified than we are.
Dr. King you went abroad to receive your Nobel Peace prize and represented us on international shores…nowadays Kanye and Jay Z (two of our supposed best and brightest) are representing us on international shores with a song called “NIGGERS IN PARIS”.
Oh Dr. King I apologize from the bottom of my heart.
If there’s any solace to be gleaned from your tragic passing it’s that when you took one in the neck you were on a balcony surrounded by your staff…Malcolm X took seventeen bullets in his chest in FRONT OF HIS WIFE AND CHILDREN, Medgar Evers took two in the back in the driveway of his home in front of his wife and children courtesy of that cowardly Klansman Byron DeLa Beckwith.
Dr.King would you please tell them that we’re sorry too?
You know Dr.King we’re so far gone that we have allowed ourselves to believe that there’s a distinction between someone calling us the “N” word and their ending it with an “A” as opposed to an “ER”…as if that’s supposed to make it alright.
Dr.King if you see Harriet Tubman, tell her that once more some of us need to be led out of the darkness and into the light.
Tell Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington that we’re sorry also. Time was we would be killed for trying to read and educate ourselves and nowadays the old adage ,
“…if you want to keep a secret from a black man, just hide it in a book…” seems truer than ever.
DR. KING it would appear that you death was in vain…James Brown told us to be BLACK AND PROUD…nowadays we just want to be paid and proud…no matter what the cost.
Our obsession with material things as opposed to spiritual will prove to be our downfall.
Yes there’s a black man in the White House and a black first lady…but that move was designed and calculated to allow White America to pat themselves on the back in a self congratulatory look – how – far – we’ve come move while doing nothing to erase the age old problems.
Dr. King I pray that you are resting in peace with Coretta right by your side.
You may run into a young man by the name of Trayvon Martin whose recent demise was proof positive that ain’t a damn thing changed but the weather. I don’t know how much he knows of you, but please fill him in and wrap your arms around him. He truly wasn’t supposed to meet you just yet.
Again I hope I haven’t been too presumptuous…no one asked me to speak for all black people but I felt compelled.
You did so much for us and look how we’re repaid you.
We owe you so much more.
THANK YOU FOR HAVING WALKED AMONGST US.
YOU WERE A MAN AMONGST MEN.
“I THANK GOD FOR MUSIC!”
– CARLTON J. SMITH
Disclaimer: This may seem like a review of all of the spate of docudramas/documentaries featuring iconic black women. It is not. However, I’m glad I had the opportunity to see:
- The United States vs. Billie Holiday
- Aretha
- Tina
- Mahalia.
In fact the timing of their release couldn’t have been more propitious. Together they highlight the evolution and foundation of the black musical experience in America. As seemingly disparate their stories music links them all inextricably. Women all driven by their passion for their extraordinary gifts to reach the world.
As I watched these and many other such films, I wondered does oppression tell our story? To paraphrase an old Roberta Flack tune, does it strum our fate with it’s fingers and sing our lives with it’s words? These stories all are mightily burdened with another aspect of the American black experience: Racism/White Supremacy. It’s unfortunate because in order to view any of these stories one must view them through the prism which reflected the times.
Despite all this the Aretha docudrama was beautifully written, filmed and casted. It managed to tell a story compelling enough to keep interest without resorting to overt sensationalism. Besides there’s nothing here you didn’t already know as far as those less than savory aspects of her life.
It is decidedly and unapologetically a black film. There’s just no other way to put it. You can smell the cigarettes and perfume and liquor in one of the early scenes. In another you may have thought you were tasting that fried chicken. The imagery of being a child in a black household of the 40s,50’s & 60’s is not unlike the one Aretha was raised in.
Both Shaian Jordan who portrayed Aretha as a child as well as Cynthia Erivo playing adult Re deserve Emmys for their brilliant performances. As does Courtney Vance for his studied depiction of Rev. C. L. Franklin.
One of the things I learned in watching many of these movies is to relax my rigid need for every physical resemblance and detail to be spot on. I’m sure possibilities exist but after all isn’t this what the skill of ‘acting’ is supposed to produce? If that’s the case Ms. Erivo uses her skills magnificently. If you remember Aretha offstage, she was almost flat. Not exactly a font of bubbling personality – esp. if she did not know you. This required a nuanced performance consisting of glances, posture, movement, and overall presentation/wardrobe. However even if all else failed -it doesn’t – her singing her own Aretha tunes were easily the crowning points of this series.
As we’re well aware to sing like Aretha Franklin is a feat few have tried and even less succeed.
Ms. Erivo and Danielle Brooks have both captured the monumental task of recreating two of the most important voices in black musical culture. There would be no Aretha without Mahalia and even though few can touch her the many successors to Aretha needed her lead.
Another aspect of Aretha is how her father is portrayed. He is a bit of a scoundrel but in true Biblical parlance we’re challenged by the question of who’d throw the first stone of condemnation?
Without C.L.’s guidance, mentoring, stage daddying, management and influence I doubt she’d have reached the pinnacle of success she eventually enjoyed. Like Joe Jackson later and contemporary with Ike Turner these men are often vilified. However, this begs the question I asked previously: does oppression tell our story? This includes black men too.
As much as possible we cover key aspects of Ms. Franklin’s life. From the Columbia days to and through the hallowed Queen of Soul Atlantic years and her lasting connection to Clive Davis and Arista. It’s all wrapped in a neat bow with her Nessum Dorma substitute performance for Luciano Pavarotti.
All the usual suspects like Dr. King, James Cleveland, Ted White, Clara Ward, Ahmet Artegun and Jerry Wexler as well as musicians and superstar vocalists are all well featured and referenced in a relatively decent historical context.
See it for yourself. If nothing else please enjoy some of the best singing this side of The Queen of Soul herself.
LP
There is a soft, drizzly overcast with birds softly chirping this grey morning in Los Angeles… a serenely bittersweet setting as our city says goodbye to a singular figure in Black Music… B.B. Dickerson of Harbor City, CA – who stepped up as an 11th hour replacement to join his uncle Howard Scott in WAR – made music that set the souls of folks on fire – World-Wide. A rock solid, bottom-dominating, Essence-clocking, Zen-like figure as Bass Man Incarnate of WAR’s O.G. Magnificent 7 (dig him on “Nappy Head,” “Low Rider,” City, Country, City,” “Galaxy,” hell, EVERYTHING WAR did), a brother of deep moods as a person who took zero shit from anyone (peep the opening of the WAR documentary – he did not play – he was THE FIRST person to leave the band on his own terms), and the PROPHET with the penetrating stare-deep-off-into-space-gaze who composed and sang WAR’s eternal classic, “The World is a Ghetto”… B.B. was as REAL, STRONG & TRUE a Black Man as Our Music ever got. So blessed to have interviewed the surviving members as Lowrider Band when he was alive…gently smiling behind sweat-smudged spectacles and pain-socketed eyes.
“Fly On, Brother B.B.- Morris Dewayne Dickerson!!!” Charles & Papa Dee await with wings for your Future Flights. Utmost Respect and Love ❤
Photo with Lyric Overlay by B.B.’s daughter, Angelique
Book Review – A Woman Like Me (Bettye LaVette Bio)
By Bettye Lavette with David Ritz
A singer who has been performing and recording for almost 60 years. But in that time has never achieved the massive star status
her talent so richly deserves. A series of possibly bad decisions and many unsupported record deals have led to disappointments, recording companies promise the world but often fail to deliver on those early promises. She has also suffered at times actual physical abuse. All these restrictions and more feature in this excellent account of her life and work. written with the author David Ritz who has written and
coauthored over 30 biographies including those of such icons as Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin and Marvin Gaye.
A woman like me is a very illuminating book to read, written in the ‘first person’ most of the time using Bettye’s reminiscences of her life and recording her music releases. As I suggested in the introduction to this review the story she tells is both shocking and inspiring, her honesty and humour come to the fore throughout and you soon warm to her determination and resilience. Possibly the most shocking element in the entire book is the fact that at the lowest point in her early life she came under the power of an unpleasant two faced pimp who had her working on the streets of Harlem as a prostitute. In fact when eventually she came to her senses and demanded to be released from his dominance she was hung by the ankles off of a roof 30 floors up to dissuade her. You will need to read the book yourself to learn what happened after that. But that was not the end of her problems and each chapter
reveals more.
In fact I will not précis here any more of the stories of Bettye’s life as revealed in this excellent book. Suffice to say that it is well worth reading to discover the ups and downs, trials and tribulations of an R&B singer trying to make a living. She lifts the lid on the many established artists and record producers she met on her journey including some she entered into a relationship with and still others who mostly did her a disservice. Her amazing journey in life requires reading to realise why she feels the
need to tell the world. She is still recording and doing live shows today, she recently did a sellout show at Ronnie Scots club in London to great adoration by her loyal audience of fans. Unfortunately I could not attend that night but I did get to watch the live streaming of some of the show from the club.
Her once smooth voice has changed with the advancing years but it now takes on a more dramatic and at times tragic sound, perfect for her songs of drama and soul.
Review written by Alan Shellard UK
Album Review: Bettye LaVette – Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook
(Pop)
> Subject: Soul-Patrol: Ms. Bettye Lavette–Interpretations
Stu,
Stu, I have listened to this album and I agree with your assessment. I predict that this album is going to finally give Bettye LaVette her long overdue acceptance within the mainstream music/cultural scene. Here is my analysis…
What do I mean by “mainstream?”
I can remember back when I was a kid, watching my parents black & white television (that sat on top of the console TV that didn’t work), there used to be television programs like “The Dean Martin Show,” The Perry Como Show,” “The Dinah Shore Show,” etc. Every now & then those type of TV programs would have as a guest Black female performers such as Diahann Carroll, Barbara McNair, and others. When this would happen, my family would get quite excited, because being on shows like this was like being accepted by the highest levels of show business. It meant that they were now accepted among the people of the “greatest generation,” (WW2) even though they should have been accepted a decade earlier, because they are actually generational contemporaries of Dean Martin, Perry Como, Dinah Shore, etc. Later we would see these type of artists appearing in everything from TV sitcoms, to movies and more.
This was quite a bit different from when a Black artist would appear on the “Ed Sullivan Show” or “Hollywood Palace,” which to us was more of a reflection of an artist being so hot on the radio, that the show had to have them on (Beatles, Temptations, Supremes, Jackson Five, etc) in order to boost ratings among demographic groups who were probably under represented and felt left out (Blacks, Teenagers, Hippies, etc). This is how those types of artists got introduced to the “hipsters” and those artists eventually moved into the “mainstream.”
Bettye LaVette is something of an “accident of history.”
If history had gone the way it was supposed to go, then Bettye LaVette would have been introduced to the “mainstream hipsters” in the same manner & at the same time that artists like Bob Dylan, Rolling Stones, Beatles, etc, were (via “Ed Sullivan Show” or “Hollywood Palace”). Maybe she would have performed at Woodstock, Monterey or similar venues? Then during the 1970’s she would have become a star among that audience. Instead she had to wait 35 years in order for that introduction to happen.
Bettye LaVette is moving into that territory of true mainstream acceptance into middle America with this album. And of course that is what she deserves. Her CD’s belong on the shelves of middle America with the CD’s of Bob Dylan, Rolling Stones, Beatles, etc, . It’s what we used to call back in the stone ages……”popular music.”
My prediction is that the same people who are going to buy the new Carole King/James Taylor material are going to also buy the new Bettye LaVette album. It’s the same audience who would have “discovered her in the 1960’s” and made her into a mainstream star in the 1970’s. Those same people are now going to make her into a mainstream star in the 2010’s. She’s doing “their music” and it those folks won’t be able to ignore it. And that to me represents a historical correction!!!
“better late than never….”
–Bob Davis
Bettye LaVette
(Readers Digest Version)
How many of yall ever read the Readers Digest?
Perhaps a few of you have?
For those of you who don’t know, the Readers Digest is quite possibly the most “uncool” publication of all time.
However used to read it all of the time, because it had a little bit of everything in it. Recipes, puzzles, serious stuff, silly stuff, etc. It represented a piece of Americana that is long gone. Replaced today by things like “The View”, “Entertainment Tonight”, “TMZ”, “The E Channel”, “Home Shopping Network”, “The Food Network”, “HGTV”, “Discovery Channel”, etc. For me the Readers Digest represented a view of America that was far 180 degrees opposite from my own reality. I wanted to read the Readers Digest because it offered me a glimpse into the “1960’s black & white” world of America that as a child, I knew existed for people that I certainly never saw, who’s reality never included anything resembling my own.
One of the features I enjoyed most in the Readers Digest was something called “The Most Unforgettable Person I Ever Knew”. This column featured an “average person” telling the story of their relationship with someone in their life who was “The Most Unforgettable Person They Ever Knew”.
Bettye LaVette isn’t “The Most Unforgettable Person I Ever Knew”, but she’s close.
Tonight I saw her perform live at a place in NYC called the “Highline Ballroom”.
The “Highline Ballroom” is located on 16th Street between 9th & 10th Avenues, near what used to be called “the meatpacking district”. It’s one of those “fake nightclubs”, constructed inside of the rotting carcass of a former industrial building by the the same folks who own the Bluenote and BB Kings to meet the perceived entertainment needs of “Hip New Yorkers”. It’s basically “BB Kings Tourist Club Brought Downtown”. In the 1980’s we might have referred to such a place as a “fern bar”.
It’s name comes from it’s proximity to “The Highline”.
“The Highline” is a freight railroad line which used to service the meat packing district as well as the many industries that used to dominate the West Side of Manhattan during the first half of the 20th Century. It was an elevated line that runs on tracks that are about 3 stories high and it was distinctive, because instead of having stations, the freight trains used to make stops inside of and along side of the buildings that it serviced, thus providing those business with a direct rail connection to the freight yards connected to Penn Station, and thereby the rest of the United States. If you try to follow the path of “The Highline”, it sometimes disappears inside of buildings and then emerges. Although “The Highline” hasn’t been used to carry freight in many decades and for the most part sits dormant, it is in fact an engineering marvel.
And so is Bettye LaVette.
If I could construct a female “soul singer” from scratch, she would sound like and look like Bettye LaVette. Much like “The Highline”, in some ways Bettye LaVette is something like “the eighth wonder of the world”, but instead of railroads, it’s soul music. And also much like “The Highline”, Bettye LaVette stands as something like “the eighth wonder of the world” (that hardly anyone knows about).
Writing an actual concert review for Bettye LaVette is by now almost impossible for me. I am far from a biased reviewer. She is absolutely one of my very favorite live performers. I have written many Bettye LaVette concert reviews, and the only thing that changes is the set list. Her singing truly touches my soul.
Tonight was a different kind of Bettye LaVette concert experience for me. In the past I have described the Bettye LaVette concert experience as one where “she leaves blood on the floor”.
Well tonight there was no “blood left on the floor”. I don’t think that “leaving blood on the floor” would be allowed inside of the “glorified fern bar” called “The Highline Ballroom”.
Oh she turned in her usual great performance, featuring songs from her new album entitled “Scene Of The Crime”. On the album, these songs sound like Bettye has the Marshall Tucker Band playing behind her. Done live that same songs sound like she’s got the Rolling Stones playing behind her. It was a 1960’s hardcore r&b;/rock n’ roll show, with brand new 2007 songs. It was equal parts Tina Turner, Cher, Diana Ross, Ronnie Spector, Pat Benatar and more. It was Motown, Broadway and the barstool next to the lady who has been sitting there since 2pm consuming beverages and talking about life, all rolled into one. She’s the past, present and future of the music I love all at the same time. If per chance the music that I grew up loving is to totally disappear from the scene (quite likely based on current realities), she represents a living “time capsule” of what it both was and should be.
Yet these songs were performed in near silence, until their conclusion, when the crowd would “politely applaud”, almost on cue. I guess that’s what happens when you take the world most perfectly engineered “soul singer” and put her into a “glorified fern bar”, complete with “a fern bar audience”.
It wasn’t really till near the end when the crowd acted like it had any life in them whatsoever.
One thing I like about Bettye LaVette is that she and I rarely agree on things. We don’t agree about politics. We don’t agree about the music industry. We don’t agree about social issues.
She probably won’t agree with me on my view of this concert. She will probably call me up and argue with me about it. She may even tell me to go to hell, or worse. (and she will do so with perfect elocution) It wouldn’t be the first time. And probably not the last.
Then in a few months she will call me and ask about my family (who she adores). She will ask about my brother. My parents. My wife. My daughter.
She will ask if there is anything she can do for Soul-Patrol. And then she does it: Tickets CD’s for DJ’s Meet & Greets Listening parties Soul-Patrol Convention Etc. Whatever I ask, she will do.
With Bettye LaVette you are rarely left in the dark about how she feels.
And that is a good thing.
There aren’t many truly honest people left in this world.
Being honest isn’t “politically correct”.
After all, someone might get offended.
Bettye LaVette is someone that the music industry left for dead. She should have been a bonafide superstar many moons ago. They should be selling 40 years worth of Bettye LaVette compilation CD’s on late night TV. But they aren’t and probably never will.
She’s 61 years old, but she looks like someone 30 years younger.
My fondest hope for Bettye LaVette is that she is still around 30 years from now, still putting on live demonstrations of what a “perfectly engineered soul singer” is supposed to sound like.
And I have no doubt that 30 years from now, Bettye LaVette will still be calling me up to disagree with something I have said or written.
And all of that will be cool with me.
But please don’t put her in anymore “glorified fern bars”, ever again!
–Bob Davis
CD REVIEW: BETTYE LAVETTE – I’VE GOT MY OWN HELL TO RAISE (soul/pop/bacon grease on top of the stove)
Another “radical move” by a classic artist, here is the formula for success
Great Classic Soul Shouter + Great Pop Songs + Great Band
Sounds like the formula for Tina Turner as a solo artist, doesn’t it???
Well maybe it was and maybe it wasn’t, however that is EXACTLY what is happening here. You take Ms. Bettye LaVette, perhaps the greatest unknown SOUL SINGER of her generation and use this formula to propel her straight out of “white boy blues heaven” and into the stratosphere where she truly belongs. A few years ago I stated in a review “Bettye LaVette’s voice occupies the space right between Aretha Franklin’s voice and Etta James voice”. Now isn’t that one hell of a thing to say? I made that statement about her LIVE “tour de’ force” entitled “Let Me Down Easy”. Since that time of course Bettye LaVette has gone on to win a WC Handy Award and to become a fixture on the modern day blues circuit around the country and around the world.
But wait Bettye LaVette isn’t a “Blues singer”, I mean she is stone cold hardcore Detroit, not Mississippi. Blame that on the way that Soul Singers have to be marketed nowadays. They have to be marketed as if they are “Robert Cray”, when in fact they should be marketed as if they were “Barbara Streisand”!!! Chalk that one up to the reality of demographics and marketing of the current century we are in. Give her some songs written by the cream of the crop of the best female pop songwriters of the past 20 years (Sinead O’Connor, Lucinda Williams, Joan Armatrading, Sharon Robinson, Rosanne Cash, Cathy Majeski/John Scott Sherrill, Dolly Parton, Aimee Mann, Toni Brown, Fiona Apple) and just let Bettye WAIL AWAY, while she is backed up by a super nasty band.
And that is what this album is. Nothing more and nothing less, right???
Ah . But there is more to the story, because what Bettye does with these pop songs is literally steal them from their authors and make them her own and that’s the magic of this album. I probably shouldn’t say that. But it’s the truth, and I’m told that the truth will set you free. Much like Jimi Hendrix took any damn song, written by another artist that he covered and took complete and total ownership of it, that is what Bettye LaVette does on the CD entitled “I’ve Got My Own Hell to Raise”. And “raise hell” with these songs is EXACTLY what she does.
I saw Bettye LaVette sing these songs LIVE @ Joe’s Pub in NYC just a few weeks ago and she turned in one of the best LIVE female SOUL performances that I have seen in a while. I probably shouldn’t say that either. But it’s the truth, and I’m told that the truth will set you free.
You wanna be free? Then you need the TRUTH
Then do yourself a favor, don’t sleep on this album
–Bob Davis
Concert Review: Bettye LaVette Terrorizes NYC @ Joe’s Pub
By definition, a terrorist inflicts damage. Bettye LaVette inflicted some serious damage to the little box that all of the “black music experts” out there would like to keep Soul music inside of. That “little box” is now battered, disfigured and perhaps changed forever
What a GREAT night for Bettye LaVette!!!!
She truly rocked the house. It was PACKED. Lots of journalists and celebrities were in the house also. My thanks to everyone involved in putting together tonight’s show. Thanks to Joe’s Pub for providing the perfect venue to launch Bettye’s new CD. We met lots of old friends and some new ones as well. The highlight of the evening was of course when Bettye sang Happy Birthday to Soul-Patrol’s own Cheryl Russell.
I just wanted to let yall know what a great time I had at this show.
That’s right; she came to Joe’s Pub and…
::SHE CAME::
:::::SHE SAW::::::
::::::SHE CONQURED::::
Bettye LaVette made a grand entrance to the stage with her slinky and yet shapely body squeezed into a “f*ck me dress, shoes to match, ready to take on all comers ”. In other words it’s one of those kind of nights that 10 years from now, 100,000 people will say they were at, but we all know that would have been impossible…lol. Bettye LaVette did everything but actually light the match that would have burned Joe’s Pub down to the ground last night my friends.
Now if I actually knew how to write a concert review like a “black music expert” for the mass media, I might say something like
“She easily transcended musical genres in a way that might suggest that terms like swamp-rock, slow jams, country-blues, funk-rock, and pop really ought not be located in separate sections of the record store, but just need to be located in a section called Bettye LaVette, simply for ease of use by the customer.”
However….
Since I have no mass media training on how to write a review, let me just say that she STANK THE JOINT UP
It was wall-to-wall 360 degrees of FUNK, even in moments of quiet and solitude.
It was in her voice
It was in her face
It was in her body
And she laid her naked soul out there on that stage. All you had to do is be prepared to receive it. People were on their feet. People were on their knees. People were on the floor
She sang and made you feel her pain, when it counted. She sang and made you feel her joy when it counted
Here is the set list…
* The Stealer
* He Made a Woman out of me
* Joy (Lucinda Williams)
* Down To Zero (Joan Armatrading)
* The High Road
* You’re Turn To Cry
* Little Sparrow
* How Different
* Just Say So
* Right in the Middle
* Heaven
* Sleep To Dream (Fiona Apple)
* I do not Want (encore)
So what does this set list tell us??? Not much because in the end, it’s just a listing of songs, right??? One of the issues with using text as a medium is that text makes it impossible to convey a sense of emotion. It’s just a two dimensional representation of the truth. When attempting to describe a performance of Bettye LaVette a two dimensional representation ends up being the same thing as no representation at all. To experience Bettye LaVette, it is required that you utilize all of your senses and use them and actually become a multi-dimensional person for yourself. And she requires that you use those senses in the proper way. Because make no mistake about it…
::::THERE IS A PROPER WAY::::::
I reviewed one of Bettye’s CD’s a few years ago and I described her voice as occupying that little space between the voices of Etta James and Aretha Franklin ” That was on a CD, last night I saw her do that live, and in addition to the great voice, I also got to see her facial descriptions and movements as they changed depending on the topic/sub topic that resonated thru each song. The contortions of her face, while she is singing speak volumes on the subject matter and force you to connect with her as she takes you through the full range of human emotion, with each and every song.
Some people like their truth to be distilled through a filter.
If you are one of those types of people I would suggest that you look elsewhere for whatever truth you need in order for you to make it through the day. You would be disappointed in Bettye LaVette.
I am one of those types of people who needs the truth to be raw. I’ll look for mine through the unfiltered lens provided by the music of Bettye LaVette. You see, I know that everyone isn’t yet ready to receive Bettye LaVette.
:::BUT THEY HAD BETTA GET READY:::
Bettye LaVette is celebrating her 44th year in show business this year. She is primed to become an “overnight success” in the world of pop music, and if there is any justice in this world, that is exactly what is going to happen to her in 2005.
–Bob Davis
CD Review: Bettye LaVette: “Let Me Down Easy/In Concert”
Last week I referred to Betty Lavette as the “Female Mighty Sam”.
I meant that in the most positive way and since I know that she’s here reading this, hopefully she will take that description in the most positive way possible.
I use that comparison here to you the members of Soul patrol, since most of you are quite familiar with the story of “Mighty” Sam McClain’s career and how he “fell through the cracks”.
Bettye Lavette has had a similar story
Apparently she is popular on the “Blues Circuit” both here and aboard, so I’m sure that there are people who will try to tell us that she is a “Blues Singer”?
Some may even go so far as to classify her as a “Blues/Soul Singer”.
Despite these attempts to place her in some “marketing category”, I’m gonna tell yall this
Bettye Lavette is a 100%, pure unadulterated SOUL SINGER, singing the type of “soul music” that I used to listen to when I was a little kid on WWRL (and take it from me, they didn’t play NO BLUES on WWRL in the mid 1960’s)
If it’s comparisons you are looking for, just think of the space right between Etta James and Aretha Franklin and that’s right where you will find Bettye Lavette.
There is P-O-W-E-R in this woman’s voice
Here is my track by track review of this LIVE album, which was recorded at the Muziekcentrum in Vredenburg, Utrect, Holland on 9/23/99
MY MAN
This song starts out as if it’s going to be one of those “imitation BB King instrumentals as performed by Eric Clapton”
LOL
Then Bettye comes in and starts singing about the glories of “her man”. This was her very first single, released in 1964
DAMN YOUR EYES
This song is about the power of love and how sometimes you can be compelled to fall in love, even when YOU KNOW that it’s going to end up being a bad thing for you. Bettye makes us feel the PAIN of that situation and reminds us just what a tormented feeling that can be. None of which is a surprise on this classic originally recorded by Etta James
RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE
This song vaguely sounds familiar to me. It sounds like the kind of record that might have come out on the STAX label in 1968, covered by Bonnie Raitt and performed during the grand finale at the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies. It is of course none of those, “Right In The Middle” is a song that was in fact released by Motown, whom Bettye signed with in 1982
YOU’LL NEVER CHANGE
Starting off with a FUNKY Bassline that would make Bootsy Collins proud, this is one of those kind of songs where Bettye is talking DIRECTLY to her man.
“It’s a PITTY and a SHAME that you’ll NEVER change
”
Believe me, whomever this man is, he is in BIG TROUBLE with bettye (and it sounds like he EARNED it
..lol)
ALMOST
“the saddest word I ever heard was ALMOST
”
This song kinda sounds a little bit like Wilson Pickett’s “Don’t let The Green Grass Fool ya” in places, with a very sweet and subtle guitar playing in the backround
YOUR TURN TO CRY (YOUR TIME TO CRY)
SERIOUS stuff here folks
“I even gave up right for wrong, tryin to get along with you
”
This song (with female backround singers) sounds like the “Emotions on Downers”. But it’s not Blues, it’s a sad and soulful tale of a breakup, where she is telling that “man” (boy do I feel sorry for him) that he had better start crying
This song, according to the liner notes:
“which many consider her best performance on record ever – was recorded in Muscle Shoals and was part of an album. Titled Child Of The Seventies, this would have been the first album in her career. It was never released”
HE MADE A WOMAN OUT OF ME
This song starts out sounding like Chuck Berry’s “Memphis”. The story in this song has a lot in common with Betty Wright’s “Tonight’s The Night”. It’s an old story about the loss of virginity
“I used to tease Joe Henry, I guess I teased too hard, ’cause one day it all happened right in my own backyard”.
According to the liner notes:
“It hit no. 25 on the r&b chart, although the record was banned by radio stations in several places. The subsequent cover version by white singer Bobby Gentry was a pop hit in 1970.”
See why I call her the “Female Mighty Sam”?
LET ME DOWN EASY
Yet another song of a failed relationship. Listening to bettye’s voice you can hear the SHEER PAIN of it all, as the organ player sounds like he is playing in church
The liner notes say:
“Her debut release for Nate McCalla’s fledgling Calla label “Let Me Down Easy”, became a top 20 r&b hit in April 1965. It still stands out as a masterpiece; a miracle of deeply layered sadness and can be considered to be one of the finest soul songs ever”
I’m not gonna say too much more about Bettye’s life story or career here.
She’s right here on The Soul Patrol Mailing List so you can ask her yourself.
However I will say this much about her that I learned from the liner notes of “Let Me Down Easy/In Concert”.
Bettye Lavette is the co-writer of my FAVORITE Stevie Wonder song, Hey Love.
That simple fact tells you just how close she came to being one of the most famous artists of her generation. The fact that we didn’t even realize it before, tells us just how thin the line between total obscurity and fame really is?
–Bob Davis
Group retrospective of the great Luther Vandross, from some of the key artists who worked with him both in the studio and on the road. Featuring: Paulette McWilliams, Kevin Owens & Jason Miles (Bob Davis – Moderator)
February 4, 2021 @ 8:00 pm – 10:00 pm
A panel discussion w/Kevin Harewood, AJ Jamal, V. Jeffery Smith, Monet Cherise, (Bob Davis Moderator)
It is with great pleasure that we announce that the indie mockumentary film “Am I Black Enough 4 You?!?!” will be showcased as part of the prominent Black Culture website Soul-Patrol.Com Black History Months Video and Film Series. “Am I Black Enough 4 You?!?!” stars comedian AJ Jamal and actor E. George Perry. The genesis of the story Is a conversation had between friends AJ Jamal and director/writer/producer Kevin Harewood where Jamal mentioned that he was once told that he would never be successful as a comedian In Hollywood because he wasn’t “Black Enough” as he doesn’t use profanity in his act. This set forth a Henry Gatesian quest to figure what defines “Blackness” and then find out “Who is the Blackest Man in America?”
Harewood describes the film as “Henry Gates meets Pootie Tang and Borat”. It recently won The Best Documentary Feature Film Award at The Kwanzaa Film Festival which operates out of Harlem, USA. It also was an Official Selection at The Urban MediaMakers Film Festival which operates out of Atlanta, Georgia. The film also features appearances by Monet Cherise, Maya Azucena, Carmen Rodgers, Buddy Lewis, Jon Laster, Jackie Rhinehart, Debbie Carter, Sharland Hendrix, Emery Blake, and Ola Alabi. It is an Indiez Streets Filmworks Presentation of a Kevin Harewood/Stephen Booth Production. A Kevin Harewood Concoction
Laura Rain and the Caesars nominated in the following categories for the Detroit Music Awards:
-Outstanding Video – Limited Budget
-Outstanding Blues Recording
-Outstanding Urban Artist/Group
-Outstanding Urban Vocalist
-Outstanding Urban Recording
-Outstanding Urban Songwriters
Thank you, Detroit. I love you!
Congratulations to all of the Detroit Music Award winners, and to all the nominees.
Laura Rain and the Caesars proudly accept these Detroit Music Awards for:
Outstanding Blues Recording:
-“Different State of Mind”
Thanks to Max Bauhof, George Friend, Jay Paradiddle, Jim Alfredson, and Roscoe for their great work.
Outstanding Urban Songwriters:
-Laura Rain and George Friend
Outstanding Urban Vocalist:
-Laura Rain
My favorite release of 2021 (so far)
Click below and listen, just listen. Don’t even listen to the whole song, just listen to the first minute and tell me if this isn’t one of the baddest slow jams of the past decade? Just send me an email at earthjuice@soul-patrol.com and tell me if you agree with me or tell me I’m crazy 🙂
Here is what Laura Rain & the Ceasars have to say about “Closer to the Win”….
Our last single for 2020 is here and it’s a bit of a departure in tone and style. “Closer to the Win” founds its way into our lives over a year ago. It was originally written as a sort of throwback to early 60’s soul and we were unsure what to do with the song. We started by performing it often on the road, playing it to see how our audience would react. The message is very personal in many ways, and we weren’t sure if it was “getting through” and touching people. We then decided (late last year) to enlist our talented friend, drummer/producer Max Bauhof to produce and help capture a vintage tone and setting. The song twisted and turned as we added more texture with Jim Alfredson playing mellotron strings, vibes, organ, pianet and piano. Jeff Powe added his bass and backing vocals and the recording took on it’s own lifeform. We finally feel pleased with the outcome and present it to you below. Official release date 12-31-20, that’s right…New Years Eve. Check it out and stay tuned for MORE music coming your way as we prepare new material for 2021!