Atlanta blues musician: Sweet Betty
Atlanta blues musician: Sweet Betty
August 5, 2010
Rhetta Akamatsu
Examiner.com
Sweet Betty, born in Duluth Georgia, got her musical career making appearances with Grady "Fats" Jackson in the 1990's. Jackson introduced her to Bob "Steady Rollin' Margolin, who had formed his own band after having been the guitarist for the legendary Muddy Waters. Margolin began performing regularly with Sweet Betty and Grady Jackson at Blind Willie's and other venues whenever he was in town.
In 1993, Sweet Betty and Jackson got a cameo appearance performing in the Steve Martin film, "Simple Twist of Fate."
When Jackson died unexpectedly in 1994, Sweet Betty's career seemed uncertain. But in 1997 Margolin invited her to sing on his album "Up and In," on his version of Jackson's tune, "Coffee Break."
Since then, Betty has been a popular live performer, appearing in Greece, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, France, and Israel as well as locally. She is a regular at Blind Willie's and a member of the tight-knit Atlanta blues community, often performing there and elsewhere with Tommy Brown, The Breeze Kings, Albert White, Roy Lee Johnson, and Beverly "Guitar" Watkins.
Sweet Betty has also worked with such performers as Percy Sledge, Taj Mahal, Magic Slim and Kenny Neal.
Keep an eye on this column for news of Sweet Betty's apperances, and sample her music and get updates on MySpace.
