Last time Bettye LaVette rolled through Chicago, she performed in front of roughly 60,000 people, opening one of the Rolling Stones’ June 2024 concerts at Soldier Field. By comparison this concert at the Old Town School of Folk Music will feel downright intimate, but I’d go see this soul queen reign anywhere. LaVette was born in Muskegon, Michigan, and began recording in 1962, when the Stones were a young R&B outfit struggling to sort out their lineup. She was 16 when she released her first single, “My Man—He’s a Lovin’ Man,” which became a big hit for Atlantic the following year, leading to tours with soul deities such as Otis Redding, Ben E. King, and the godfather himself, James Brown.
LaVette’s epic career has hit lots of highs and lows. After putting out a slew of singles for Detroit labels, she signed to Atlantic in 1972 and headed to the famed Muscle Shoals Sound Studio to record her debut album, Child of the Seventies. The label refused to release it, but decades later it would find its audience: French label Art and Soul released it as Souvenirs in 2000, and in 2006 Rhino put it out under its original name with additional Atlantic recordings. LaVette went on to issue molten singles on Epic and Motown, and in 1978 she had another smash on West End Records with the disco-tinged “Doin’ the Best That I Can.” In 1982, she finally released her first proper full-length, Tell Me a Lie, also through Motown. The album’s first single, “Right in the Middle (of Falling in Love),” magnificently displays her powerful pipes—as it climbed the R&B charts, many folks who heard it must’ve wondered why LaVette wasn’t a household name like Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, or Diana Ross.
LaVette’s career slowed down after that, but in 2003 she released A Woman Like Me, her first album in 20 years—and she’s been killing it ever since. She performed at a star-studded concert at the Lincoln Memorial celebrating Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration, and in April of that year she collaborated onstage with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr at Radio City Music Hall. She’s continued to release more blues and soul albums, stacking up the awards and salutations. When the Stones asked her to open, LaVette was unfazed. “I’ve been waiting for them to call for sixty years,” she wrote on Instagram. “They finally found my number!” Her recent set lists compile songs from across her vast rich catalog, including her gritty and dramatic 1965 single “Let Me Down Easy” and last year’s funky burner “Mess About It” (from the excellent album LaVette!). I sure couldn’t afford to see this legend with Mick and the boys, so it’ll take wild horses to drag me away from this cozy gig.
Bettye LaVette 12/8, 7 PM, Gary and Laura Maurer Concert Hall, Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 N. Lincoln, $48, $46 members, all ages