Tammi Terrell burst into her dressing room wielding a gun - Bettye LaVette Interview

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She grew up in Detroit, birthplace of Motown, where the party was never-ending, but the rivalry was as big as the bouffants. On one occasion, Motown’s Tammi Terrell burst into her dressing room wielding a gun to boast she could “out-sing” her on “any day of the week”. Berry Gordy Jr, the label’s founder, never brought her on to his sparkling roster.

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https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/aug/27/bettye-lavette-james-brown-kanye-west-aretha-franklin-kamala-harris?

Who did sign Bettye to Motown?

Lee Young.

Brilliant interview

Love her interviews just as much as her music. Always honest.

I love Bettye! You don’t have to guess and wonder with her.

Bettye is a firecracker still at 74!

That was a wild read. I love Bettye. They released her Muscle Shoals sessions from the early seventies on vinyl a couple years ago, and it is fantastic!

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I can see Tammi doing something like this! Tammi started out young, so she had to be able to take care of herself.