More Info on Betty EverettSimilar Undetermined MusicSearch Artistopia
Biography
Refimprove|date=February 2009Infobox musical artist| name =Betty Everett| image =| alt =| caption =| image_size =| background = solo_singer| birth_date = November 23, 1939| birth_place = Greenwood, Mississippi | death_date = Death date and age|2001|8|19|1939|11|23| death_place = Beloit, Wisconsin | origin =| instrument = Voice, piano| genre = R& B / Southern Soul / Country music|Country | occupation =| years_active = 1957–2000| label = Vee-Jay Records|Vee-Jay , Uni Records|Uni , Fantasy Records|Fantasy | associated_acts = The Impressions , Jerry Butler| website =| notable_instruments =Betty Everett (November 23, 1939, Greenwood, Mississippi – August 19, 2001, Beloit, Wisconsin ) was an United States|American soul music|soul singing|singer and pianist , best known for her biggest Chart-topper|hit single (music)|single , the million-selling " The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss) ".
Biography
Early career
Everett began playing the piano and singing gospel music in church (building)|church at the age of nine. She moved to Chicago in 1957 to pursue a career in secular music. She recorded for various small local Chicago soul record label|labels , before she was signed in 1963 by Calvin Carter, A& R musical director of fast-growing independent label, Vee-Jay Records .
An initial single failed, but her second Vee-Jay release, a bluesy version of " You're No Good " (written by Clint Ballard, Jr. and later a chart-topper|#1 hit for Linda Ronstadt ), just missed the United States|U.S. top 50. Her next single, the catchy "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)", was her biggest solo hit. The Rudy Clark song climbed to #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and made #1 on the Cashbox R& B chart for three weeks.
Her other hits included " I Can't Hear You No More|I Can't Hear You ",(covered by numerous artists, including Dusty Springfield , Helen Reddy , and others), "Getting Mighty Crowded" (covered by Elvis Costello in 1980), and several duets with Jerry Butler (singer)|Jerry Butler , including "Let It Be Me" which made the US Top 5 in 1964 and was another Cashbox R& B number 1. After Vee-Jay folded in 1966, she recorded for several other labels, including Uni, Fantasy, and ABC.
After an unsuccessful year with ABC, a move to Uni brought another major success in 1969 with "There'll Come A Time", co-written by producer and lead singer of The Chi-Lites, Eugene Record. This rose to #2 in the Billboard R& B listing (#26 on the Hot 100) and topped the Cashbox chart. However, most of her later work would not match the success she had with Vee-Jay, although there were other R& B hits such as "It's Been A Long Time" and "I Got To Tell Somebody", which re-united her with Calvin Carter in 1970. The 1975 album Happy Endings had arrangements by Gene Page and includes a cover of " God Only Knows " by The Beach Boys . Her final recording came out in 1980, again produced by Carter. Her awards include the Broadcast Music Incorporated|BMI Pop Award (both for 1964 and 1991) and the BMI R& B Award (for 1964).
Later career
Living with her sister from the 1980s until her death, Everett resided in Beloit, Wisconsin , where she was involved in the Rhythm & Blues Foundation and the churches of the Fountain of Life and New Covenant . In 1989, a personal manager of Everett at the time brought her to the attention of Worldwide TMA, a management consulting firm in Chicago under the direction of Steve Arvey and Scott Pollack, former Chairman of The Chicago Songwriters Association, and started work on reviving Everett's singing career.
In 1990, her signature hit, "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)" had been used in the movie, Mermaids (film)|Mermaids for the end credits, recorded by the star of the film, Cher . This reached #1 in the United Kingdom and charted well elsewhere in Europe. An article appeared in a British Sunday newspaper The Mail On Sunday with the headline reading; "Betty Everett Gets Her "Cher" Of A Hit". Fans (according to the article in The Mail On Sunday ) were calling the London radio stations asking for the original to be played instead.
Everett had secured an indie label deal in the USA (Trumpet Records-unreleased) and a new single "Don't Cry Now" had been recorded, penned by Larry Weiss. In connection to the preceding events, Everett was booked and aired a 20-minute appearance on the hit TV show at the time, Current Affair . She was then booked to star at the 1991 Chicago Blues Festival which aired live worldwide on over 400 PBS radio channels, marking Everett's last live appearance on radio. Later that year, two concerts were booked for consecutive weekends in late October 1991; one at Trump's Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, the other at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. All had been arranged through management and Charles McMillan, Jerry Butler's longtime friend and personal manager. However, Everett declined to show for the engagements. Despite exposure, she was unable to resurrect her career because of health issues.
She was inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Foundation's Hall Of Fame in 1996 and, about four years later, made her last public appearance on the PBS special Doo Wop 51 , along with her former singing partner, Jerry Butler. This, according to The Independent , a UK-based newspaper (circa August 2001) was met with raves about the brief reunion where she "brought the house down" (quoted from The Independent). Butler, in his autobiography, "Only The Strong Survive", compared Betty with Gladys Knight as a singer in that she seemed to do everything so effortlessly.
Everett died at her home in Beloit on August 19, 2001; she was 61 years old.Citation | title = Betty Everett, 61, of 'The Shoop Shoop Song' | newspaper = New York Times | date = 2001-08-23 | url = http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html? res=F00817F63F550C708EDDA10894D9404482 | accessdate = 2011-02-18
1963: ''You're No Good (reissued in 1964 as It's in His Kiss )cite web|url= http://www.bsnpubs.com/veejay/veejay1071-1154.html |title=Vee-Jay Album Discography, Part 2: Main Series VJS-1071 to VJS-1154 |publisher=Bsnpubs.com |date=2006-12-15 |accessdate=2011-03-15- Vee Jay
1964: Delicious Together (with Jerry Butler (singer)|Jerry Butler ) - Vee Jay
1964: " The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss) " (US #6)(UK#31)
1964: " I Can't Hear You " (US #66)
1964: " Let It Be Me (song)|Let It Be Me " (duet with Jerry Butler (singer)|Jerry Butler ) (US #5)
1965: "Getting Mighty Crowded" (US #65)(UK #20)
1965: " Smile (Charlie Chaplin song)|Smile " (duet with Jerry Butler (singer)|Jerry Butler ) (US #42)
1965: "I'm Gonna Be Ready" (US Cashbox R& B #41)
1969: "There'll Come a Time" (US #26, US R& B #2)
1969: "I Can't Say No to You" (US #78, US R& B #29)
1969: "It's Been a Long Time" (US #96, US R& B #17)
1970: "Unlucky Girl" (US R& B #46)
1970: "I Got to Tell Somebody" (US #96, US R& B #22)
1971: "Ain't Nothing Gonna Change Me" (US R& B #32)
1973: "Danger" (US R& B #79)
1974: "Sweet Dan" (US R& B #38)
1980: "Hungry for You"
References
Reflist
External links
http://www.soulmusichq.com/earshot16p3.html Betty Everett at Soul Music HQ
Persondata| NAME = Everett, Betty | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH = November 23, 1939 | PLACE OF BIRTH = Greenwood, Mississippi | DATE OF DEATH = August 19, 2001 | PLACE OF DEATH = Beloit, Wisconsin DEFAULTSORT:Everett, Betty Category:1939 births Category:2001 deaths Category:American female singers Category:American pop pianists Category:People from Beloit, Wisconsin Category:People from Greenwood, Mississippi Category:Musicians from Wisconsin Category:Musicians from Mississippi Category:African American singers Category:American gospel singers Category:American rhythm and blues singers Category:American soul musicians Category:Vee-Jay Records artists Category:Uni Records artists
