Bettye LaVette

Soul singer Bettye LaVette has had an epic career. She recorded her first single "My Man — He's a Lovin' Man" as a 16-year-old Detroiter in 1962, and its success put her on tour with Ben E. King, Clyde McPhatter and a young Otis Redding. Yet it was another 20 years before her first album was released and another 20 years before her career finally caught fire and the accolades and Grammy nominations started pouring in. How did she become one of our most treasured song interpreters? How did she overcome her “buzzard luck”? And what did Bob Dylan do to tick her off? Don’t underestimate or mess with Bettye LaVette. (Photo by Joseph A. Rosen.)