"A Woman Like Me" by Bettye LaVette and David Ritz

David Ritz is American writer specialised in biographies of soul royalty - I have read his biography of Etta James with the greatest interest and he also wrote about Jerry Wexler, Marvin Gaye, B.B. King, Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin amongst others. I also know his name from countless liner notes in CDs by many of my favourite music artists, so it seems the man is great authority on music - when opportunity came to collaborate with Bettye LaVette it must have been a dream job for him because here was this unsung heroine of soul who languished neglected in the background, just to get wide international recognition much later in life.

Initially I was just mildly curious - after all, LaVette hardly left any trace in business, where her contemporaries conquered the world - but before you know it the book was so engrossing that it was impossible to put it down and I read the whole darn thing in two days. What distinguishes this autobiography from countless other similar books is the gleeful frankness LaVette unrepentantly displays all the way through - warts and all, she is here to tell her story and if you don't like it, tough luck. Tough luck is mostly what this woman had trough life full of disappointments and false starts, broken promises, penniless years, music projects shelved and discarded, singing radio jingles and performing in small local bars forgotten by the world. Along the way she did had her share of fun as she cheerfully admits herself - her romps and escapades are gossipy heart of the book, although one suspect pent-up frustration behind all these admissions - having independent spirit and sense of humour is all fine, but to actually name the people who snorted and blowed with her back in the day feels like a swipe at those who made it (the list is long and mighty entertaining). Decade after decade, LaVette barely survives, until reader really wants her to finally get a break - curiously, most of unhappiness and frustration was self-inflicted as singer rejected opportunities for anonymous family life (daughter and the husband are unceremoniously dumped aside) in order to persevere in her pursuit of fame. As much as industry didn't treat her kindly, LaVette herself lacked the skills to deal with important people and book is full of Muthafuckas who deceived her. Its good to see her finally successful, though it feels a bit too late.