Thankful N' Thoughtful Bettye LaVette

• 1Everything Is Broken03:44
• 2I'm Not The One03:34
• 3Dirty Old Town03:55
• 4The More I Search04:22
• 5I'm Tired03:19
• 6Crazy05:47
• 7Yesterday Is Here03:38
• 8Thankful N' Thoughtful04:21
• 9Fair Enough03:16
• 10Time Will Do The Talking04:05
• 11Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere03:20
• 12Dirty Old Town06:59
• 13Old04:36
• 14Welcome To The Good Times03:53
• 15Whole Lotta Lonely04:20
• Total Runtime01:03:09

Info for Thankful N' Thoughtful

R&B Legend Bettye LaVette is set to mark her 50th anniversary in the music world with the upcoming release of her mesmerizing album, 'Thinking N' Thoughtful'.

Produced by Craig Street (Norah Jones, Joe Henry, k. d. lang, Meshell Ndegeocello, John Legend, Charlie Sexton, etc.), TN’T is a selection of contemporary tracks written and previously recorded by Bob Dylan, The Black Keys, Tom Waits, Neil Young, Patty Griffin, Gnarls Barkley and others, which BETTYE consumes whole, rearranges deep within her soul and exorcises as her own through her voice filled with longing, rage, desire, despair, survival and victory. BETTYE’s voice—rough, tender, sensuous--is her instrument of inspiration and her dynamic power seethes throughout each song, wringing out the pathos, sharing her hard earned wisdom and story throughout these tales of her reinvention.

Thankful N’ Thoughtful opens with the funk injected Bob Dylan cut “Everything Is Broken” and when Bettye moans and howls the title refrain you have no doubt as to the trouble she’s seen. The entire album turned out to be a companion piece to her autobiography as while she was writing the book, she was also recording the songs on TN’T. On Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy,” she slows it down just a tad, then wrings every drop of sweat and blood from each and every syllable till your spine tingles, with “Dirty Old Town” (The Pogues / Rod Stewart), Bettye reworks the lyrical setting to Detroit—singing about her first love at Northern High and the Detroit race riots. Meanwhile, when she takes on The Black Keys’ “I’m Not The One,” the sensual grit of the song sizzles with her all-knowing rasp. “I’m Not the One” is now available at all digital outlets and the video from the Rolling Stone website can be seen below.

'Ms. LaVette’s bruised, caustic, adamant voice plunges into every line, coming through the songs as an unflinching survivor.' (New York Times)

Bettye LaVette, vocals
Chris Bruce, guitar
Jonathan Wilson, guitar & banjo
Jennifer Condos, bass
JJ Johnson, drums & percussion
Glenn Patscha, piano, keyboards, vocals (on 'Crazy')
Doug Wieselman, reeds (on 'Yesterday Is Here')
Steven Bernstein, brass (on 'Yesterday Is Here')

Betty Jo Haskins
was born January 29,1946, in Muskegon, Michigan. The family moved to Detroit when she was six years old. Her parents sold corn liquor and her living room was oft-times visited by The Soul Stirrers, The Blind Boys of Mississippi, and many other traveling gospel groups of the day. Unlike many of her contemporaries, Bettye did not get her start in the church, but in that very same living room, where there was a jukebox, filled with the blues, country & western, and R&B records of the time. The "5" Royales, Dinah Washington, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Red Foley, ...these were her roots.

By 16, Betty Jo had become enamored with showbiz. She decided to change her name to something more dramatic. She knew a local groupie by the name of Sherma Lavett, liked the sound of the name, and thus, Betty LaVette was born. Singer Timmy Shaw brought her to Johnnie Mae Matthews, notorious Motor City record producer. Bettye's first single was "My Man - He’s a Loving Man.", in the fall of 1962. The record was quickly picked up by Atlantic for national distribution. The record charted #7 R&B and put her on her first national tour, with Ben E. King, Clyde McPhatter, and another newcomer, Otis Redding. After a brief spell at Detroit's Lupine label, Bettye went back to New York and became the featured singer in the Don Gardner & Dee Dee Ford Review, where their Small's Paradise shows became the talk of the town. Her association with Don and Dee Dee spawned her next big record, for the Calla label. "Let Me Down Easy", written by Dee Dee Ford, was an atmospheric masterpiece. Bettye's pleading voice, set against the moody string arrangement by Dale Warren produced a record that is on many "greatest soul songs of all time" lists. It went # 20 R&B in 1965 and led to an appearance on the television show, Shindig. It also put her on a tour with The James Brown Review. More, please visit the homepage: www.bettyelavette.com

Booklet for Thankful N' Thoughtful