The "five careers" of Bettye Lavette - a podcast by BBC World Service

Bettye Lavette was a 16-year-old growing up in Detroit when she had her first hit, My Man, in 1962. In 2009 she performed at President Obama's inauguration celebration and called it "the greatest day of my life." But the path from that first hit to the recognition she now enjoys around the world has not been smooth. She talks to Emily Webb about how she spent the intervening years "working, not waiting," and kept her faith that the phone would always ring.

Picture: Betty Lavette performs during the Robert Johnson At 100 Centennial celebration at The Apollo Theater on March 6, 2012 in New York CityCredit: Getty Images / FilmMagic / D Dipasupil

Further episodes of Lives Less Ordinary

Further podcasts by BBC World Service

Website of BBC World Service