She is a six-time Grammy Award-nominated singer, and she’s ready to sing for her fans in her hometown of Detroit. Bettye Lavette has been making music since she was 16 years old, back in 1962. Nearly 60 years later, she’s still going strong, recording music and doing live shows.
Lavette spoke with host Jason Carr ahead of her performance at the Motor City Casino’s Sound Board on September 19th.
When asked what has kept her going all these years, the singer responded that this is what she knows best.
“I’ve done it all my life so I don’t have time now to do anything else,” Lavette joked.
Lavette started her career in Detroit back in the 60s. She was one of the singers that came up through the Greystone Ballroom. Originally, she went to the popular dance hall to study to become a groupie, and as luck would have it another groupie noticed her and introduced the young Lavette to Timmy Shaw and Johnnie Mae Matthews, local music producers and writers. Within 30 days she had a record on the charts at just 16 years old.
To this day, one of her favorite parts of her job is live performances. She loves performing so much she has been holding concerts from her living room during the pandemic. However, her upcoming performance in Detroit has her nervous.
“When you’re performing before someone who knows all of your secrets, it’s the scariest thing in the world,” says the songstress. “But it’s the most exciting thing [too]. I am so looking forward to it.”
The concert is at 8 pm at the Motor City Casino’s Sound Board on Sunday, September 19th. Tickets can be purchased online through several sites, or at The Motor City Casino. Her newest album, Blackbirds, can also be found on most music apps and websites.
To see the full interview, watch the video above.