Feature: GRTR! Greats – BETH HART
Photo: Manuela Langotsch
Beth Hart’s place in the GRTR! Greats series was sealed a long time ago by her heartfelt songwriting, emotionally charged voice and musical excellence spanning a 18 plus album career backed by non stop touring.
Her vibrato is reminiscent of Buffy St’ Marie, and she effectively uses her wide ranging vocal range for whatever a song requires.
Then there’s her animated stage presence which combines raw passion and essential spontaneity with crowd interaction.
It’s been said that she has an artistic integrity in which there is no separation between art and life, as she unravels her own sense of authenticity.
It’s an edgy dynamic that has led to an early stop-start career where her mixture of addictions and a bi-polar personality provided the fuel for a song catalogue.
She moves from the confessional singer-song writer mode via story telling narratives, to a full blown rock career in which she forged her own style to explore rock, blues, soul, jazz, gospel and rap in the service of the song.
She had operatic aspirations in her teens until she was told by her teacher that she was born to interpret songs, rather than undergo the discipline of respecting the composer.
It was an early life musical lesson that set her on a path in which she has artistically refused to compromise while dealing with her own problems.
Photo: John Bull/Rockpix
In 1992 she won the Hollywood Star Search talent contest, but didn’t land a record deal, but cut a debut album a year later in 93’, with the rough- edged ‘Beth Hart & The City Of Souls’.
She was quickly recognised as an incredible singer, but one who had yet to learn her craft, though her presciently titled song ‘Am I The One?’ was a sign of good things to come, being later re-issued on her 1996 official debut ‘Immortal’.
In fact it wasn’t until she was spotted busking by her later long time manager David Wolff that things started to happen.
He secured her a deal with Warners for 1999’s ‘Screaming For Her Supper’, with the label presumably hoping for similar kind of crossover success they enjoyed with Rickie Lee Jones.
The album included the hit ‘LA (Leave This Town’), a kind of confessional singer-songwriter number so redolent of her native Southern California.
The song dripped with honesty and authenticity, while showing a lyrical vulnerability that she later returned to on 2o15’s ‘Better Than Home’ album.
There was also the surprising commercial jingle-jangle of ‘Delicious Surprise’.
The album gave her a number 1 in New Zealand and established her in The Netherlands and Denmark.
Photo: Noel Buckley
And while she retained her artistic independence by following what 19th Century philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson called “the voice within,” she was dropped by Warners.
Undeterred she released the reflective ‘Leave The Light On’ in 2003, which she confided was about; “The darkness of being down and then the light of being back in the living again.”
In exploring that duality, she reached an album of deeper intensity featuring the raw emotions of the title track and the hymnal ‘I’ll Stay With You’.
Her growing success in Holland led to an extended album being released with 16 tracks and 5 bonus tracks of live songs.
It wasn’t until the early 2000′s that Beth Hart really started to make an impact in the UK. This coincided with coverage at GRTR! from 2008.
And it was 2006 ‘Live at the Paradiso’ DVD (later released as a CD) that initially caught our attention, as she perfectly built a very intense show from the ground up, starting with just piano and voice, then with companying guitar etc, as she worked her way through ‘Delicious Surprise’, ‘Leave The Light On’ and The aptly titled ‘Lift You Up’.
Despite being mainly seated behind a piano there no denying the sheer energy of her performance which climaxes with Zeppelin’s ‘Whole Lotta Love’.
Our first review, an early gig at The Fly venue in London’s New Oxford Street (2008), was poorly attended but GRTR!’s Andy Nathan was there and we could see much promise:
“…she delivered a bunch of credible, passionately delivered songs recalling the highs and the lows of relationships, self abuse, and the like. What distinguishes Beth is both her very physical stage presence, her soulful, breathless rock meets blues vocal style, and the fact that her songs never flinch from exploring the constituents of her own psyche.”
On album, our reviewer Pete Whalley was also suitably impressed writing about 37 Days reissued in 2008:
“There’s no question Beth Hart has one hell of a set if pipes on her. A female Roger Chapman, with more ‘puff’ if you like. And when she’s not making your ear drums bleed, she’s got a warm husky hue to her vocals. Little wonder that she’s played Janis Joplin in a stage play.”
From the celebratory ‘As Good As It Gets’, though a soulful cover of Warren Haynes’ ‘Soulshine’ and a rocking ‘One Eyed Chicken’, (“A one-eyed chicken who can’t be changed”), to the poignant ‘At The Bottom’ you can feel her ascent as a recording artist.
And having marketed her successfully in Denmark, her new Dutch Provogue label quickly set about doing the same in the UK.
In 2010, reviewing My California, Pete noted: “her most accessible album to date…Her calming influence has been Danish producer Rune Westberg who encouraged her to adopt a more consistent style and to temper her naked, raw and emotive outpourings. He also insisted on recording the songs on the day they were conceived to capture their unspoiled essence.”
The title track and the sombre, yet catchy ‘Love Is The Hardest’ and the equally emotive ‘Sister Heroine are arguably the album highlights.
Beth was not all doom and gloom as the celebratory ‘As Good As It Gets’ and the irreverent domestic humour of ‘Wash Your Stinky Feet Motherfucker’ proved.
Pete Feenstra, 2011
Photo: Maggie Rogers
Still building her audience in smaller venues we reviewed her Borderline gig in May 2011: “Beth Hart’s uncompromising take on the well worn Southern Californian confessional singer songwriting model seems to be paying dividends.
One part Janis Joplin bluster with a mighty vocal range to match and one part a contrastingly emotionally fragile but self affirming lyricist, she’s found a welcoming audience waiting for her in Europe.
Beth deals in raw autobiographical outpourings that chart her progress from down and out rock & roll wild child to a confident songstress on the cusp of the BBC Radio 2 playlist.”
In September Beth released her first collaboration with Joe Bonamassa. Alan Jones didn’t mince his words:
“‘Don’t Explain’ is a masterclass, not only in Bonamassa’s fretmeistery but also in the astonishing range of Beth’s vocals, a range that brings to mind some of the finest female singers in the history of popular music.”
Photo: Andrew Lock
In November, Andrew Lock proclaimed “an outstanding performance full of power and emotion, her voice and range has to be heard to be believed” reviewing her gig at The Assemly, Leamington Spa.
…you never go to a Beth Hart gig without being swept up by her emotional conviction, intrinsic drive and natural exuberance.
Pete Feenstra, 2011
On that same tour, and in contrast to his first live sighting, we noted a larger crowd at Dingwalls in London although a gig that “never quite fulfilled its full potential.
The set list that probably looked good on paper didn’t seem to take into account her own animated performance which takes as much out of the audience as the performer herself. The end result was an occasional dynamic void and probably one too many ballads.”
And while that was a comment on her live rather than recorded output, she was imperceptibly broadening her appeal with a more roots rock approach, taking in blues in particular and soul in the slipstream.
Since that time, she’s broken both sides of the Atlantic in tandem with Joe Bonamassa, maturing as an interpreter of song whose eloquent phrasing brought fresh life to some of her favourite artists like Billy Holliday and Etta James.
Her Provogue record label also thoughtfully released a 5 track promo EP, featuring, 3 songs from ‘37 Days’ and ‘Sister Heroine’ and ‘My California, the title track of her 2010 album.
She moved further into a rock, blues, big band, jazz and gospel direction on ‘Bang Bang Boom Boom’ (released 5 October 2012).
The album included some sultry phrasing on the booming ‘Baddest Blues’ and the reggae tinged ‘The Ugliest House On The Block’, on an album that impressively fused various genres.
Photo: Bob Singleton
“I’m so grateful, Man. I feel like I’ve arrived at a place where I’m really comfortable and ready to go all the way. I’m going to put my whole heart and soul into blowing European audiences away. And then I’d like to bring all that energy back to the U.S. and remind them where I came from.”
Pete Feenstra chatted to Beth Hart prior to her London show, 17 February 2012.
Beth played her biggest ever UK show to date at London’s Shepherds Bush Empire in February 2012 when we noted the contrast to that Dingwall’s outing:
“a thrilling show full of total commitment, in the moment spontaneity and the kind of stellar performance that marks her out as a special talent.
Where on her previous smaller club dates she had shown glimpses of her true potential, tonight she threw off the gauntlet to stride the stage with the kind of ‘rock chick’ animus that served her so well in her early career.”
Photo: Bob Singleton
I commented that to an extent Beth was filling the void left by Amy Winehouse in the BBC Radio 2 schedules where she was gaining additional exposure.
“…the demographics of the packed Empire audience suggests a wider appeal, as the room was filled with rock fans, bikers, dykes, baldies and presumably Radio 2 fans.
But Beth’s rock approach was closer to say Juliette Lewis than Amy Winehouse, as she strutted her stuff, worked the audience and brought a rough hewn coherence to a set that explored her three primary genres of rock, soul and confessional singer song-writing.
Beth Hart has always been a star in the making with only her personal demons and the ever changing vicissitudes of musical taste standing in the way. Americans don’t do irony, but even Beth must wonder how having survived the wild child rock star cycle, she’s now achieving success as a mainstream radio balladeer.”
Beth’s next collaboration with Joe Bonamassa – Seesaw in 2013 – moved in a more radio friendly/crossover direction:
“The approach is similar to the ‘Don’t Explain’ album, but with a slightly more middle of the road feel that irons out the raw edges and adds production gloss in the pursuit of radio friendly product”
The album was probably a step too far in the JB covers collaboration, focussing on jazz standards, but it did reconfirm her interpretive skills on covers by the likes of Billy Holiday and the Don Covay penned, Aretha Franklin title track .
It was hard to believe that it was only 5 years since her debut UK show for Provogue.
Their successful partnership featured on the following year’s CD/DVD Live In Amsterdam where Pete Whalley contrasted the two protagonists:
“Bonamassa continues to struggle to look cool – looking more like the gangly school nerd in someone else’s suit than a rock star, while Hart has got the rock front of house ‘Madam’ look down to a T now she’s lost the peroxide and looks less like P!nk’s older sister.”
The album stretched the respective talents over 22 tracks, of which the riff-heavy ‘Sinner’s Voyager, the deeply felt ‘Your Heart Is As Black As Night’ and an ethereal ‘Strange Fruit’ linger.
Photo: Steve Goudie
Pete Feenstra chatted to Beth Hart for Get Ready to ROCK! Radio in April 2015 with tracks from her album Better Than Home.
Promoting her latest album ‘Better Than Home’ Beth Hart’s Barbican gig in May 2015 contrasted again sharply with that early review at The Fly. The stage was adorned with “an expansive black back-drop, flickering candles on top of the amps, and great sight lines help to create a welcome sense of intimacy between performer and audience.”
“Beth Hart is at the top of her game. The new material fits perfectly, the older chestnuts sparkle, and she illuminates some well chosen covers with a mix of raunch, passion and simply the joy of singing. It doesn’t get much better than this.”
I listed her fifth studio album Fire On The Floor in my top albums of 2016 describing “a career defining album full of rich songcraft, heartfelt phrasing and exuberant playing, shot through with total conviction and emotion.”
Song highlights included late night feel of ‘Jazz Man’, the percussive ‘Love Gangster’ and the jazzy sophistication of ‘Woman You’ve Been Dreaming About’.
Pete Feenstra interviewed Beth Hart for Get Ready to ROCK! Radio with tracks from the album ‘Fire On The Floor’. First broadcast October 2016.
2018 was a busy year for her, as she rejoined Joe Bonamassa for the soulful ‘Black Coffee’.
Another covers album, but with a soulful bent, the material is attacked with gusto, as they recycle Edgar Winter’s funky ‘Give It Everything You’ve Got’, the Humble Pie version of the Tina Turner title track and Beth’s husky vocal on the sledgehammer gospel version of Lucinda Williams’ ‘Joy’.
Beth consolidated her live performances that year with an appearance at the Royal Festival Hall in November and in 2018 released the CD/DVD Live From New York Front And Center.
Photo: Christie Goodwin
Also in 2018 Jason Ritchie described “at times it was like being in a revivalist/gospel meeting such was the sheer love and devotion coming from the stage to Beth and her band and then likewise back to the audience.”
And on the same tour, she played her very first Royal Albert Hall gig subsequently encapsulated on a CD/DVD which I described as “a career defining live album” and making my choice of Blues/Rock album of the year.
I thought the next studio album – War In My Mind – may have alienated new-found fans as it was a return to her earlier singer/songwriter format with no less than 8 ballads (on a 12 track album). Given the fact it was her highest charting solo album so far, a lot of people seem to have finally caught up with her.
By any standards, she has one of the best blues or soul voices in the business, but what sets her apart, especially on the darker material, is the way that voice lives out some very personal and emotional lyrics
Andy Nathan, 2020
Photo: Paul Clampin
It may have confounded some, given the number of cover versions in existence, but Beth Hart’s next album – A Tribute To Led Zeppelin (2022) – received Jason Ritchie’s full approval as she lent her vocal power and emotion to time-worn material.
Beth Hart’s latest album You Still Got Me was once again a mix of Blues Rock bluster and ballad and one I described as “an album crafted by lyrical weight, musical versatility and the emotional tug of her phrasing, which drags it back from the dreaded MOR tag.”
Photo: Manuela Langotsch
There’s a muscular duet with Slash ‘Saviour With A Razor”, full of “rock-blues bluster”, the resonant stomp and her feral scream of ‘Suga N’ My Bowl’ (with guitarist Eric Gales) and the subtle percolating ‘Machine Gun Vibrato (You Still Got Me)’, from an album that also dips into country and jazz.
Finally as footnote; what better way to round off this piece than to enjoy Beth’s emotionally charged rock duet with fellow GRTR! Great Walter Trout, on his 2024 title track single called ‘Broken’.
And reviewing her gig at London’s Hammersmith (Eventim) Apollo Dave Atkinson mused:
“Quite the show, as every Beth Hart gig is. Confident and vulnerable, complicated and straightforward, Beth is a bundle of contradictions who puts every ounce of her character and emotional past into the songs. She performs with no safety net – that role is played by her band and her crew – and it provides for thrilling, captivating entertainment.”
Long may she continue to do so!
Main story: Pete Feenstra
Continuity: David Randall
Contributors: Dave Atkinson, Pete Feenstra, Alan Jones, Andrew Lock, Andy Nathan, Jason Ritchie, Pete Whalley
UK Tour Dates
Thu May 14th BRISTOL Beacon
Sat May 16th EDINBURGH Usher Hall
Mon May 18th NOTTINGHAM Royal Concert Hall
Wed May 20th GATESHEAD Glasshouse
Fri May 22nd OXFORD New Theatre
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions,
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April 12
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UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). First broadcast on 10 March 2026
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Power Plays w/c 16 March 2026
THE DEVIL WEARS NADA Brat With A Baseball Bat (Eonian Records)
ARANDA You Don’t Wanna Know (indie)
MYRATH Breathing Near The Roar (earMUSIC)
DELBHOY KENNEDY Sky’s The Limit (Flip Flop Records)
ALL THEM WITCHES Starting Line (BMG)
HER FURY Use And Abuse (indie)
Featured Albums w/c 16 March 2026
09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Singer Songwriter)
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