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Bettye LaVette
How many of these soulful artists sang "A Change is Gonna Come" with Jon Bon Jovi at the inauguration for the first black president in American history? How many looked like they nearly made Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey cry during a cover of the Who's "Love Reign O'er Me" at the Kennedy Center Honors? Unlike most of the artists on this list, Bettye Lavette, born in 1946, has been around nearly as long as Aretha Franklin and James Brown. And from her first R&B hit ("My Man, He's a Lovin' Man") in 1962 to working with Cab Calloway on Broadway to covering songwriters like Aimee Mann, Elton John and Dolly Parton on her more recent albums, LaVette has stunned with veteran virtuosity. Just ask President Obama.
