Bettye LaVette has recorded a new version of “Strange Fruit,” the Abel Meeropol song that was made famous by Billie Holiday. Her rendition appears on her forthcoming album Blackbirds, which arrives August 28. Take a listen to it below.
Blackbirds will mark LaVette’s second album for Verve, and follows 2018’s Things Have Changed, on which the soul and blues singer covered songs that were originally written by Bob Dylan. On the new album, which was produced by Steve Jordan, LaVette will cover various artists who have inspired her, including Dinah Washington, Lou Rawls, Nina Simone, and others.
Read our recent interview with Bettye Lavette in “How 5 Musicians Over 70 Are Dealing with Life, Loss, and Touring in the Age of Coronavirus.”