“What the hell is Bettye LaVette doing on Motown?”
That was the general consensus when one of rhythm & blues’ most underappreciated underground greats wound up in the land of the Dazz Band, Rick James and DeBarge. O.K., Smokey, the Temps and Stevie were still there holdin’ on strong. And other established “adult” acts such as Jose’ Feliciano, O.C. Smith and Jean Carn were also being wooed in an effort to broaden the demographic around there. But still, it was a helluva thing to wrap your mind around. Ultimately, fans of Bettye were just thrilled that the lady had a major label recording….and true to form, it had many stellar moments.
Titled Tell Me a Lie, Bettye’s early `80s one-off for Motown was a mixed bag of succulent soul tinged with a country kick, a couple of vintage Motown covers and one dance floor misstep that, overall, stands tall with time and will be welcomed back into circulation by anyone starved for some good old-fashioned soul sista R&B.
Bettye cut all of her vocals live on the studio floor with the rhythm section at Nashville’s Sound Stage Studio, but to this day everyone swears the music sounds more like it was cut in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. That’s thanks to the cunning mix of musicians and singers producer Steve Buckingham put together. The sessions – averaging two to three songs a day – were easy and relaxed. Everyone in the studio was proud to be working with Bettye. “All the boys in the band recognized Bettye as ‘the real deal’ coming in,” Buckingham states, “and throughout the sessions she proved herself to be a real pro – completely prepared mentally, musically and emotionally. When musicians work with an artist of that caliber, the singer really pushes the band. And she was just so bubbly and fun to work with – an absolute joy.”
