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• Ms. Hathaway's official site
• Ms. Hathaway on SoulTracks
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Tavis: People always expect a whole lot from you when your father is a legendary performer. For Lalah Hathaway, daughter of soul sensation Donny Hathaway, high expectations are nothing new. Next week she releases her first CD--first solo CD, that is--in a decade. A collection of songs titled 'Outrun the Sky.' Here is Lalah Hathaway performing the title track, 'Outrun the Sky.'

Lalah Hathaway, singing:

One day I'm gonna outshine a shooting star,

One day I'll outrun the sky,

One day I'm gonna make my mama proud,

One day I'm gonna learn to fly...

Tavis: Lalah Hathaway. Nice to see you.

Lalah: Thank you.

Tavis: How you been?

Lalah: Good.

Tavis: This title, first of all, before I get to your daddy--I want to talk about that in just a second. But 'Outrun the Sky,' where'd that come from?

Lalah: That came from a song that I wrote on a flight. And that song is kind of like a prayer because I was really nervous on the flight. And it was all stuff I would do once I landed.

Tavis: Mm-hmm. Are you typically nervous on flights?

Lalah: I am.

Tavis: I ask you that--Aretha Franklin was on this show last week.

Lalah: I saw her.

Tavis: You saw the show?

Lalah: I am. I'm not convinced that they have worked all of the bugs out of that program yet, so I do a lot of meditation and prayer and songwriting.

Tavis: But you still get up there, though.

Lalah: Oh, yeah, I go.

Tavis: Aretha won't even go there.

Lalah: I gotta go. If I had a bus, though, that'd be cool.

Tavis: Yeah, but you're writing and praying and meditating all the time.

Lalah: Oh, yeah.

Tavis: Whenever one sits and talks to you, it is impossible, although I'm sure it is--well, I don't want to color your response. Let me just put it this way. When everyone talks to you, I suspect for a person who sits in my chair, it is impossible to have a conversation with you without raising the name of Donny Hathaway and without asking you about your father. Let me ask you, though, having said that, whether or not you ever get tired of being asked about your father?

Lalah: You know, I don't. There are a lot of questions that I can't answer for people, but as far as being associated with my father, I'm very proud of that. And the way that I'm associated with my mother and the way that I am associated with my sister. So it never gets on my nerves.

Tavis: What do you wish--this might be an impossible question. It might be too personal. If it is, tell me to pull up, and I will. What do you wish that your dad could most do for you, with you, were he still here? I mean, is there a dream that you have, or a thought--'Yeah, I wish my daddy were here so that I could...so that we could...'

Lalah: You know what? I would really like to see him play live. I've talked to so many people that saw him over the years and talked about what the experience was like for them and how incredible he was. I would just really like to observe him and watch him play live and hear his voice live and listen to him play.

Tavis: It's funny you should say that because I was listening the other day to your daddy's live CD. He did a live CD in New York.

Lalah: Right.

Tavis: And he did a cover of Marvin Gaye's 'What's Goin' On?'

Lalah: Right.

Tavis: You know this?

Lalah: I do.

Tavis: Obviously you know this. What a dumb question, 'Do you know?' Of course you know. He's your daddy. Anyway, I loved his remake, his cover of Marvin's 'What's Goin' On?' And to your point, I obviously never saw him in concert, but what I'm so amazed about is that he sounded as good live as he did in the studio. That's a trait that you've got from your father. I've heard you on CD, and I've heard you live, and there are very few artists today who I would actually pay to go see, ‘cause I am so disappointed with that they sound like on this and what they sound like in person.

Lalah: Well, you're supposed to sound as good or better live ‘cause theoretically, it's you, you know what I mean? This record is not really about the production of the record. It's more about the sound and the songs and all that, but that live record, and there's another new live record out, which has other new live stuff on it, unreleased stuff, so, yeah, his voice is brilliant, and the studio is just a place where you have more time to perfect what it is you're doing, but live, it's all that spontaneity. It's you and the crowd and the feedback and all that right there, so it should be a different kind of experience.

Tavis: How do you describe your voice, and then compare with for me your voice with your father's voice. There's a richness and a depth to your voice, but how do you describe your voice, and compare that to your daddy's sound.

Lalah: I don't describe my voice, you know. I'm an alto. I'm a contralto. That's about it. It's hard for me to describe it because it's so many different things, and it's just my voice, and I don't hear the same thing that you hear.

Tavis: Your voice sounds deeper to me sometimes than an alto. Maybe my pitch is off, but--

Lalah: That's a contralto. It's very dark.

Tavis: See, I just learned something, OK. Alto. Contralto. That's a new word for me. Contralto. All right.

Lalah: My father's voice is so many things, which I cannot put my finger on. A lot of it is joy, a lot of it is pain. It's the melding of all kinds of cultural music that was happening during that time in gospel music and blues and rock and roll. It's also just the tone of his voice is unmatched, ever, so he had a lot of very special things happening at once.

Tavis: Before I get onto your CD, I want to talk about that in just a second. One last question about your father, though. Is there a particular, I don't know what this might be, is there a particular thing--every artist has something that they do that there's a signature, that people kind of know them for--with their voice, I'm talking about. Is there a particular thing that your dad could do with his voice or with his styling that you wish you could emulate in the way that he did it?

Lalah: You know, I wish I had the whole thing because--

Tavis: That's greedy, Lalah, come on now. You want the whole thing. Come on, now. I'm just asking one thing your daddy did.

Lalah: You know, his tone, like I say, his tone, he could just sing a song so masterfully and deliver the story and not have to go through all the rigmarole, all the riffing, and all the over-singing, which I hear a lot of right now, but his tone is so immediately beautiful and haunting and recognizable. Yeah, very distinctive.

Tavis: 10 years since your solo CD. You put that brilliant CD out with Joe Sample, which, as I've told you last time I saw you, I've gone through, like, 5 copies. That Joe Sample thing y'all did was just absolutely phenomenal.

Lalah: Thank you. I'm really proud of that record.

Tavis: You should be proud. If I were you, and I'm glad I'm not, ‘cause if I were you, then I would have punked out. I'm so glad you put another CD out, but after that, I would have said, 'That's it, y'all. I'm done.' I don't know how you topped what you and Joe Sample did together.

Lalah: We actually were talking about doing another record, so--

Tavis: Y'all should stop talkin' and get in the studio and get busy on that thing. I'm glad you didn't take the coward's way out like I would have done. I would have said, 'That's the best I can do and I'm done with it.'

Lalah: You've gotta keep moving.

Tavis: I'm glad you kept it moving, but it took you 10 years to get to this. Why 10 years for a solo project?

Lalah: The first part of that answer now, for me, is I don't really know why 10 years. The second part of that answer is the industry has been in such a kind of weird state of flux and upheaval that it took us that long, really, to find someplace that was willing to say, 'OK, we're gonna pay for you to do what it is you need to do.' So, um, it's been a strange 9 or 10 years, but I feel like I'm in the right place at the right time, particularly in light of the fact that my father's record came out this year, too, so now, I feel like we both have a record out at the same time, which could not have been planned, you know?

Tavis: Let me ask you this, and I don't know how honest you're gonna be with me about this--

Lalah: 100%.

Tavis: OK, well. Good. You said that. I ain't asked the question yet, but you said it, so the audience is listening. I won't call any names, because it's not about casting aspersion on other artists, but I wonder whether or not to your point of trying to find a place that can appreciate what you do and give you a chance after 10 years to put another CD out. There is no debate, nobody denies that you do not possess a brilliant voice, a wonderful voice. Why does it take you 10 years to get a deal with a record company that values that, when there are so many other folk who puttin' out records, who you could sing, quite frankly, under the table? You ever get bothered by that?

Lalah: Well, you know, it's kind of frustrating in the dark, but really, there's a lot of people like me, there are a lot of musicians that are struggling.

Tavis: How unfair is that, though, when you can actually sing--not being produced--

Lalah: Fair--fair is relative, you know what I mean? I'm in the place where I'm supposed to be and I really feel like there's a lot of divine intervention. I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing, and in the last 10 years, even though I haven't put out a solo record, I did 2 or 3 Me'shell records, a Take 6 record, couple of Marcus Miller records. I did that great Joe Sample record. I did a Ricky Peterson record. I did a whole lot of stuff. Um, maybe this is where--where it's going, you know what I mean? There are a lot of women, particularly women, particularly soul women, like Mica Paris, like Shanice, like Karen Wheeler, like Maysa, you know what I mean--we're all sort of in this niche of not quite the hip-hop generation, but not quite out of it. We like beats and we like to dance, but we also like the music that our parents grew us up to, so there's a lot of people in between--there's a huge market for people that want adult music that's not too adult.

Tavis: All right, so that's your assessment of the music industry. All right, now, what's your assessment of the music purchaser, the music buyer, the consumer? What does it say about us that we, um, will buy the other stuff? Maybe it's because they give it to us. But when there are people who really can sing, or as we say in the black way, who can sang, we have to wait 10 years to get a product. What does that say about the consumer?

Lalah: I think a lot of us eat what we are fed, but I think by and large the consumer doesn't really know what's out there because the music industry is so tight. And I'm pretty sure there's, like, probably 17 people who control all of that. So you have to seek out where it is--

Tavis: 17? That's generous. I would say, like, 7 maybe. Ha ha ha ha!

Lalah: You have to seek music out. You have to go out and support your local musician. You have to take your kids to see the bands and the artists that you grew up listening to so the kids have an appreciation for music.

Tavis: What do you like to listen to, personally?

Lalah: Right now I'm listening to Shirley Horn and Jazzanova, and my good friend Rahsaan Patterson just put a record out that I love. But I listen to a lot of music a few hours a day.

Tavis: So you're gonna tour this thing?

Lalah: I am. Yeah.

Tavis: That's good. This cover, by the way, is absolutely gorgeous.

Lalah: Why, thank you.

Tavis: That is a gorgeous, gorgeous cover. I'm glad you came to see me. Your music is gorgeous.

Lalah: Thank you very much.

Tavis: Now, the next time you come back--I was very disappointed, and whatever we have to do to make it happen, next time we will, but you must come back on this show and perform at some point.

Lalah: Certainly.

Tavis: All right? Got a deal there?

Lalah: For sure.

Tavis: All right. That's our show for tonight. As always you can catch me on the radio on NPR. I'll see you back here next time on PBS. Until then, thanks for watching. Good night from Los Angeles and, as always, keep the faith.