Betty Everett (Born 23/11/1939, Died 19/08/2001)

Everett was born in Greenwood, Mississippi, where she performed in gospel choirs. She came to Chicago with her sister in 1957 and settled on the city's West Side. Everett was discovered at Mel's Hideaway by bluesman Magic Sam, who helped her land a contract with Cobra Records in 1958. When Cobra went under the following year, Everett hooked up with disc jockey George "G.G." Graves, who teamed her up with a male group called the Daylighters. They sang around Chicago and recorded one single, 'Why Did You Have To Go'/'Please Come Back', for the C.J. label in 1960. Everett followed with a 1961 solo release, 'Happy I Long To Be'/'Your Lovin' Arms', which went nowhere.

Everett then hooked up with independent record producer Leo Austell, for whom she recorded four sides in November of 1961. One of them, 'Your Love Is Important To Me', on the One-derful label, made a bit of an impression in March of 1962 and marked Everett's shift from bluesy material to a more soul based sound. Austell spent 1963 trying to get his discovery on a bigger label, and she found a home on Vee Jay. Her first single, 'Prince of Players', didn't do anything but her next release propelled Betty Everett into the spotlight. 'You're No Good' came out in the fall of 1963 and became a regional smash and also reached 51 on the pop charts.The song made an even bigger impact when it was turned into a number one pop hit by Linda Ronstadt in 1975 - credit to Ronstadt for spotting the song's potential and recording an OK version, but you should still hear the superior original.

Everett's follow-up made her name a household name, at least to rock 'n' roll fans and was her first major success. 'The Shoop Shoop Song' zoomed up the pop charts, peaking at 6 in the spring of 1964. It's since been done by others (e.g. Cher) but Everett's version is infinitely better. Her next single, 'I Can't Hear You' wasn't the follow-up everyone hoped for but 'Let It Be Me', a duet with label mate Jerry Butler reached number 5 and became Everett's biggest hit - a soul version of the Everly Brothers tune that stayed just this side of syrupy! Other releases with Butler were equally good. In December of 1964, she made another splash with the toe-tapper 'Getting Mighty Crowded', which is probably, initially at least, the record Betty was best known for in the UK and always a favourite on the dancefloors.

By 1965, Everett's winning streak on the pop charts had come to an end. After Vee Jay went under in 1966, she signed with ABC-Paramount. Everett later turned up on Uni and enjoyed three good-sized R&B hits in 1969 - 'There'll Come A Time', 'I Can't Say No To You', and 'It's Been A Long Time'. On the Fantasy label, she had reasonable R&B hits in 1971 with 'I Got To Tell Somebody' and 'Ain't Nothing Gonna Change Me'. After that, Betty Everett's chart career was essentially over. A comeback performance for the 2000 PBS special Doo Wop 51 was her last public appearance. She quit the music business in 1980 and died in 2001, reportedly of a heart attack, at the relatively young age of 61. The Charly release "It's In His Kiss" features all her most popular material and is probably the first album to get if you're new to Betty's music - for as long as it's in print!.