Bettye LaVette accepting her award for "Best Contemporary Blues Female Artist" at the Blues Foundation's 2008 Blues Music Awards.
BEST ALBUMS OF 2007: Bettye LaVette - The Scene of the Crime (Anti-)
"Critics have lined up to call her the greatest soul singer alive. But LaVette, recently argued that ''soul'' is a white man's misnomer. Maybe best blues interpreter, then? A track like ''Talking Old Soldiers'' — crooned in a bar to a stranger, by an aging drunk who's seen all her friends die — gets to the essence of despair the way great blues does... even if it's actually an Elton John cover. Enlisting the Drive-By Truckers as her rowdy, ragged backup band, LaVette continues to imbue her other borrowed tracks (from Don Henley, George Jones, and Willie Nelson) with grit, anguish, and even some serious sex appeal. She's a force of nature so we'll just have to settle on labeling as awesome." - EW.COM
Bettye LaVette Nominated for "International Artist of the Year" Award 2008
The Toronto Blues Society's Maple Blues Awards - Canada's National Award Program that promotes and recognizes outstanding achievement in Blues Music, has announced the nominees for 2008 - Bettye LaVette was nominated for "International Artist of the Year".
Blues Artist of the Year (Female) & Most Outstanding Blues Singer - 2007
In 2007, Living Blues Readers and Critics Polls named Bettye the "Blues Artist of the Year (Female)" and "Most Outstanding Blues Singer"
The R&B Foundation Pioneer Individual Award - 2006
Berry Gordy, Lifetime Achievement Award
Otis Redding, Legacy Award
Thom Bell, Songwriter, Sideman, Entrepreneur Award
Chubby Checker, Individual Award Recipient
Bettye LaVette, Individual Award
Barbara Mason, Individual Award
The DelFonics, Performance Group Award
Frankie Beverly, Performance Group Award
"It should be a very interesting evening; I'm sure it will be a very emotional one for me. I wanna look very stern and really mean, but will probably cry several times!" - Bettye LaVette.
Blues Critic Award: "Best Female Blues Singer 2005"
The WC Handy Blues Award 2004: "Blues Comeback Album of the Year"
The Blues Foundation honors outstanding Blues artists and musicians through the annual Memphis WC Handy Blues Awards - the highest recognition bestowed on Blues artists in the music industry. In 2004, The Blues Foundation selected "A Woman Like Me" as "Blues Comeback Album of the Year".
Bettye was also nominated in three other categories:
"Soul Blues Female Artist of the Year"
"Soul Blues Album of the Year" and
"Traditional Blues Female Artist of the Year".
In an online poll for About.com she was voted the winner in all four categories.
Bettye LaVette made a moving acceptance speech and performance at the Awards.
