Betty Everett
Betty Everett (born November 23, 1939 in Greenwood, Mississippi , † August 19, 2001 in Beloit (Wisconsin) ) was an African-American soul singer who was successful in the 1960s and 1970s.
biography
Betty Everett grew up in Greenwood, Mississippi, and sang in a gospel choir as a child. At the age of nine she began training as a pianist. After moving to Chicago in 1957 , she turned to secular singing. In the same year she received a record deal with the Chicago label Cobra Records and released her first single record with the title My Life Depends on You / My Love . Although she moved to other regional record companies several times until 1963 (1960 CJ, 1962 Renee, 1963 One-derfool), her published records were unsuccessful.
It was only with the change to the US-wide operating record company Vee-Jay in 1963 that there was success. The second Vee Jay record entitled You're No Good entered the US charts. On the Billboard Hot 100 the title rose to number 51, and was much more successful in the rhythm and blues charts with number 5. Everett's greatest solo success was the Shoop Shoop Song , which was released in February 1964. It went to number 1 in the R&B charts and reached number 6 on the Hot 100. Betty Everett achieved the best positions in a duet with Jerry Butler and the title Let It Be Me . This also reached the top spot in Rhythm and Blues and ranked 5th on the Hot 100. Her only international success was with the title Getting Mighty Crowded , which also hit the charts in Great Britain. New Musical Express listed him as the best listing in February 1965 at number 20. The collaboration with Vee-Jay lasted until 1965, and Everett was able to bring two more titles to the hit lists during this time ( I Can't Hear You, Getting Mighty Crowded ).
After the last three Vee Jay singles flopped, Everett moved to ABC Records , but had no new successes with their record productions either. In 1969 he switched to UNI Records and returned to the road to success. The first published track, There'll Come a Time , shot to second place in the R&B charts and also found a good listing on the Hot 100 at number 26. In the UNI Records singles, the focus of success was clearly on R&B. Sector, until 1970 another three UNI titles could be placed in the Rhythm and Blues Top 50. In 1974 Everett signed a four-year contract with Fantasy Records . There she had three more R&B successes with I Got to Tell Somebody, Ain't Nothing Gonne Change Me and Sweet Dan . The latter title was Everett's last top 50 win. In 1978 she had her last chart listing (R&B, No. 78) with the song True Love published by United Artists.
In 1964 and 1991 Betty Everett received the BMI Pop Awards , and in 1964 she also received the BMI R&B Award. In 1994 she received the Pioneer Awards from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation . In the 1990s she appeared several times on television and radio shows, in 2000 she appeared on the PBS show Doo Wop 51 together with her former duet partner Jerry Butler . In the last few years of her life, she lived with her sister in Beloit, Wisconsin. She died there in 2001 at the age of 61.
US top 50 successes
| year | title | Hot 100 | R&B |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | You're no good | 51. | 5. |
| 1964 | The Shoop Shoop Song | 6th | 1. |
| 1964 | I can't hear you | 66. | 39. |
| 1964 | Let It Be Me (& Jerry Butler) | 5. | 1. |
| 1964 | Getting Mighty Crowded | 65. | 28. |
| 1969 | There'll come a time | 26th | 2. |
| 1969 | I can't say no to you | 93. | 29 |
| 1969 | It's been a long time | 96. | 17th |
| 1970 | Unlucky girl | 46. | |
| 1970 | I got to tell somebody | 96. | 22nd |
| 1971 | Ain't Nothing Gonne Change Me | 32. | |
| 1974 | Sweet Dan | 38. |
Discography
US singles
| title | Catalog no. | year |
|---|---|---|
| Cobra | ||
| My Life Depends on You / My Love | 5019 | 1957 |
| Ain't Gonna Cry / Killer Diller | 5024 | |
| I'll Weep No More / Tell Me Darling | 5031 | |
| CJ | ||
| Why Did You Have to Go / Please Come Back (& The Daylighters) |
611 | 1960 |
| Happy I Long to Be / Your Loving Arms | 619 | 1961 |
| One-derful | ||
| Your Love is Important to Me / I've Got a Claim on You | 4806 | 1963 |
| Please Love Me / I'll Be There | 4823 | 1964 |
| Vee-Jay | ||
| Prince of Players / By My Side | 513 | 1963 |
| You're No Good / Chained to Your Love | 566 | 1963 |
| The Shoop Shoop Song / Hands Off | 585 | 1964 |
| I Can't Hear You / Can I Get to Know You | 599 | 1964 |
| It Hurts to Be in Love / Until You Were Gone | 610 | 1964 |
| Let It Be Me / Ain't That Loving You Baby (& Jerry Butler) | 613 | 1964 |
| Getting Mighty Crowded / Chained to a Memory | 628 | 1964 |
| The Real Thing / Gonna Be Ready | 683 | 1964 |
| Too Hot to Hold / I Don't Hurt Anymore | 699 | 1964 |
| Trouble Over the Weekend / The Shoe Don't Fit | 716 | 1965 |
| ABC | ||
| In Your Arms / Nothing I Wouldn't Do | 10829 | 1966 |
| Bye Bye Baby / Your Love is Important to Me | 10861 | 1966 |
| Love Comes Tumbling Down / People Around Me | 10919 | 1967 |
| My Baby's Loving My Best Friend / I Can't Say | 10978 | 1967 |
| UNIVERSITY | ||
| There'll Come a Time / Take Me | 55100 | 1969 |
| Better Tomorrow Than Today / I Can't Say No to You | 55122 | 1969 |
| 1900 Yesterday / Maybe | 55141 | 1969 |
| Been a Long Time / Just a Man's Way | 55174 | 1969 |
| Sugar / Just Another Winter | 55189 | 1970 |
| Unlucky Girl / Better Tomorrow Than Today | 55219 | 1970 |
| Eric | ||
| Smile / Let It Be Me (& Jerry Butler) | 169 | |
| The Shoop Shoop Song / You're No Good | 170 | |
| Fantasy | ||
| I Got to Tell Somebody / Why Are You Leaving Me | 652 | 1970 |
| Ain't Nothing Going To Change Me / What is It? | 658 | 1971 |
| I'm A Woman / Prove It | 667 | 1971 |
| Black Girl / Innocent Bystanders | 687 | 1972 |
| Danger / Just a Matter of Time Till You're Gone | 696 | 1973 |
| Sweet Dan / Who Will Your Next Fool Be | 714 | 1974 |
| Try It You'll Like It / Wondering | 725 | 1974 |
| Happy Endings / Keep It Up | 738 | 1974 |
| United Artists | ||
| True Love / You Can Do It | 1200 | 1978 |
US vinyl long-playing records
| title | Catalog no. | year |
|---|---|---|
| You're no good | Vee-jay 1077 | 1963 |
| It's in His Kiss | Vee-jay 1077 | 1964 |
| The Very Best of Betty Everett | Vee-jay 1122 | 1965 |
| I need you so | Sunset 5220 | 1968 |
| There'll come a time | UNI 73048 | 1969 |
| Starring Betty Everett | Everest 2073 | 1970 |
| Love rhymes | Fantasy 6004 | 1974 |
| Happy endings | Fantasy 9480 | 1975 |
| Woman with Soul | Vee-Jay 7307 | 1977 |
Compact disk
It's In His Kiss (Vee-Jay, 2006)
Track: 1. It's In His Kiss , 2. Hands Off , 3. You're No Good , 4. June Night , 5. Hound Dog , 6. With You I Stand , 7. It Hurts To Be In Love , 8. Until You Were Gone , 9. The Prince Of Players , 10. I Need You So , 11. Chained To Your Love , 12. Down In The Country , 13. I Can't Hear You , 14. Gettin 'Mighty Crowded , 15. Gonna Be Ready , 16. The Real Thing , 17. The Shoe Won't Fit
literature
- Frank Laufenberg: Rock- und Poplexikon Vol. 1 , Econ Taschenbuch Verlag, Düsseldorf 1998, p. 485, ISBN 3-612-26206-8
- Günter Ehnert: British Chart Singles 1950-1965 , Taurus Press Hamburg 1995, p. 65, ISBN 3-922542-32-8
Web links
- Betty Everett at soulwalking.co.uk
- Biography at allmusic.com
- Discography at melingo.com
- Chart listings on musicvf.com
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Everett, Betty |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American soul singer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 23, 1939 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Greenwood, Mississippi |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 19, 2001 |
| Place of death | Beloit, Wisconsin |