Let Me Down Easy (Bettye LaVette song)

"'Let Me Down Easy'" is a 1965 song recorded by American soul singer Bettye LaVette. Written by Dee Dee Ford (using her birth name, Wrecia Holloway) and released by Calla Records, the song peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Hot Rhythm and Blues Singles chart.

"Let Me Down Easy"
Single by Bettye LaVette
B-side"What I Don't Know (Won't Hurt Me)"
Released1965
GenreSoul, R&B
Length2:50
LabelCalla
Songwriter(s)Wrecia Holloway
Producer(s)Don Gardner
Bettye LaVette singles chronology
"Witchcraft in the Air"
(1963)		 "Let Me Down Easy"
(1965)		 "I Feel Good All Over"
(1965)

Composition and release

Dee Dee Ford, a singer who teamed up with Don Gardner on the top-20 single "I Need Your Lovin'" in 1962, wrote "Let Me Down Easy" three years later using her real name Wrecia Holloway.[1] The song, a torch ballad,[2] was performed by Bettye LaVette, arranged by Dale Warren, and produced by Gardner.[1] New York independent label Calla Records released the track as a single and it reached number 20 on the Billboard Hot Rhythm and Blues Singles chart.[3] LaVette performed it on a 1965 episode of Shindig![4] and on the 2012/13 Hootenanny show presented by Jools Holland.[5]

Critical reception

A 1965 Billboard review of "Let Me Down Easy" complimented the song's "driving beat" and LaVette's "outstanding wailing vocal performance."[6] In 2006, music journalist Bill Friskics-Warren described it as "a gloriously anguished record aggravated by nagging syncopation, astringent strings, and a stinging blues guitar break".[7] Ladies of Soul author David Freeland wrote that "the record featured her most soulful performance to date–miles away from the youthful impetuosity of 'My Man', recorded just three years earlier. The fade, in which she repeatedly shouted 'Please! Please!' was particularly effective." Freeland added that the song highlighted LaVette's "blistering intensity modulated by moments of deep, heartfelt reflection."[8] Allmusic's Jason Ankeny remarked that the song is "a staple of the Northern soul scene and the countless anthologies it's yielded", and said it is LaVette's "masterpiece, a blisteringly poignant requiem for romance gone bad distinguished by its unique, tangolike rhythm and sweeping string arrangement."[9] Holly Gleason of Relix called it a "seminal" song "which many consider to be one of the great soul sides of all time".[10] In a 2013 Metro Times article, writer Brett Callwood said of the song: "LaVette’s voice soars one minute and purrs the next, each word practically dripping off her tongue. Performed live, the song sounds better today than it ever did".[11]

Other versions

LaVette re-recorded "Let Me Down Easy" in 1969 for Karen Records, a small New York independent label. The remade version, which incorporated funk guitars similar to those on early Funkadelic records, was released as a single.[7] The song is a highlight of her live shows, as featured in the album Let Me Down Easy In Concert, recorded in Germany in 1999. It has also been covered by The Spencer Davis Group on The Second Album (1966),[12] Inez and Charlie Foxx on At Memphis & More (1973),[13] Paloma Faith on Fall to Grace (2012).[14] and Paolo Nutini on Caustic Love (2014).[15]

Chart performance
Chart (1965) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[16] 103
U.S. Hot Rhythm and Blues Singles (Billboard)[3] 20
U.S. Cash Box Top 100[17] 90
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References
  1. Hildebrand, Lee (September–October 2006). "Classic Women of Soul". Living Blues. University of Mississippi. 1 (186): 18. ISSN 0024-5232.
  2. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. p. 113. ISBN 978-0195313734.
  3. "Hot Rhythm and Blues Singles". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 77 (20): 56. May 15, 1965. ISSN 0006-2510.
  4. Henig, Samantha (November 11, 2010). "Dept. of Amplification: 'Who the Hell Is Bettye LaVette?'". The New Yorker. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
  5. "Jools Holland returns with his Annual Hootenanny". North Wales Daily Post. December 21, 2012. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
  6. "Hot Rhythm and Blues Singles". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 77 (15): 48. April 10, 1965. ISSN 0006-2510.
  7. Gaitskill, Mary; Carr, Daphne (2006). Da Capo Best Music Writing 2006: The Year's Finest Writing on Rock, Hip-Hop, Jazz, Pop, Country, & More (Revised ed.). Cambridge, Mass.: Da Capo Press. p. 175. ISBN 978-0306814990.
  8. Freeland, David (2001). Ladies of Soul. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. pp. 84–5. ISBN 978-1578063314.
  9. Ankeny, Jason. "Bettye LaVette & Carol Fran - 'Bluesoul Belles ' - Review". Allmusic. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
  10. Gleason, Holly (December 2012). "Hunger Games: After a 50-year journey of near-hits, brushes with stardom and countless tales of sex, drugs and soul music, singer Bettye LaVette is finally getting her due". Relix. Relix Media Group. 1 (244): 42. ISSN 0146-3489.
  11. Callwood, Brett (December 30, 2013). "Bettye LaVette Comes To AntiFreeze Blues Fest". Metro Times. Archived from the original on March 25, 2014. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
  12. "The Spencer Davis Group - 'The Second Album' - Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
  13. "Inez & Charlie Foxx - 'At Memphis & More' - Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
  14. "Paloma Faith - 'Fall to Grace' - Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
  15. "Paolo Nutini - 'Caustic Love' - Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  16. "'Billboard' Hot 100". Billboard. 77 (22): 28. May 29, 1965. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
  17. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles: Week Ending May 15, 1965". Cashbox Magazine, Inc. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
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