The "five careers" of Bettye Lavette
Bettye Lavette had her first hit song, "My Man," in 1962 when she was just 16, but it took her five decades to get the recognition she deserved as a singer.
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.
Picture: Betty Lavette performs during the Robert Johnson At 100 Centennial celebration at The Apollo Theater on March 6, 2012 in New York City
Credit: Getty Images / FilmMagic / D Dipasupil
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