Life is a series of defining moments and Blues chanteuse Beth Hart has had plenty in her nearly two-and-a-half decade career.
Hart competed on Ed McMahon’s Star Search program in 1993, winning the “female vocalist” crown, which teed up her debut album that year, Beth Hart and the Ocean of Souls. Hart’s true breakthrough came with 1999’s Screamin’ for My Supper and its successful single “LA Song (Out of This Town),” which coincided with her starring role as Janis Joplin in the off-Broadway musical Love, Janis.
Unfortunately, the Hart/Joplin comparisons went beyond the pair’s similarly raspy and passionate vocal deliveries. Hart’s alcohol and prescription drug consumption ultimately led her to several psych-ward admissions and rehab attempts, which were thankfully successful by 2000. She then went on a hot streak with 2003’s Leave the Light On, 2005’s Live at Paradiso and 2007’s 37 Days. Even though she maintained her sobriety, the backlash of her addictions caused a devastating breakdown just after the release of 37 Days, keeping her off the road for months. A new doctor devised the correct medicinal formula for Hart’s longstanding bipolar issues, and she’s been in top form ever since.
Hart’s current string of successes began in 2011 with her vocal contribution to Joe Bonamassa’s Dust Bowl, which led to their classic Blues duet album, Don’t Explain. In 2012, she simultaneously released My California and the Introducing Beth Hart EP, followed a few months later by her electrifying performance of Etta James’ “I’d Rather Go Blind” with Jeff Beck at the Kennedy Center Honors for Blues legend Buddy Guy. Guy subsequently asked Hart to sing the song “What You Gonna Do About Me” on his 2013 album Rhythm & Blues; that same year also saw the release of Seesaw, her second collaboration with Bonamassa, and the American release of her Blues/Pop/Swing/Jazz album Bang Bang Boom Boom.
Hart’s latest album, Better Than Home, finds her at her most confident as a singer and songwriter and generating the best reviews of her career. If you’re looking for some of the best contemporary Blues around, you’ve got to have Hart.
This article appears in Jun 10-16, 2015.