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Betty Jean Everett (November 23, 1939 – August 19, 2001) was an American
soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...
singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...
and
pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...
, best known for her biggest hit single, the million-selling " Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss)", and her duet " Let It Be Me" with
Jerry Butler Jerry Butler Jr. (December 8, 1939 – February 20, 2025) was an American soul singer-songwriter, producer, musician, and politician. He was the original lead singer of the R&B vocal group the Impressions, who were inducted into the Rock and ...
.


Biography


Early career

Everett was born in
Greenwood, Mississippi Greenwood is a city in and the county seat of Leflore County, Mississippi, United States, located at the eastern edge of the Mississippi Delta region, approximately 96 miles north of the state capital, Jackson, and 130 miles south of the rive ...
, United States, the daughter of Catherine and Abel Everett. She began playing the
piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...
and singing
gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is compo ...
in
church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...
at the age of nine. In 1957, she moved to
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
, to pursue a career in secular music. She recorded for various small local Chicago soul
labels A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product. Labels are most often affixed to packaging and containers using an adhesive, or sewing when affixed to ...
, before she was signed in 1963 by Calvin Carter, A&R musical director of fast-growing independent label
Vee-Jay Records Vee-Jay Records is an American record label founded in the 1950s, located in Chicago and specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. The label was founded in Gary, Indiana, in 1953 by Vivian Carter and James C. Bracken, a ...
. An initial single failed, but her second Vee-Jay release, a cover version of " You're No Good" (written by Clint Ballard Jr. and later a No. 1 hit for
Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is an American singer who has performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin music. Ronstadt has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three A ...
), just missed the
U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...
top 50. Her next single, "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)", was her biggest solo hit. The song climbed to No. 6 on the
Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...
and made No. 1 on the Cashbox R&B chart for three weeks. Her other hits included " I Can't Hear You", covered by numerous artists, including
Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), better known by her stage name Dusty Springfield, was a British singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano voice, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop mus ...
,
Helen Reddy Helen Maxine Reddy (25 October 194129 September 2020) was an Australian-American singer, actress, television host, and activist. Born in Melbourne to a show business family, Reddy started her career as an entertainer at age four. She sang on ra ...
, and others, "Getting Mighty Crowded" (covered by
Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...
in 1980), and several duets with
Jerry Butler Jerry Butler Jr. (December 8, 1939 – February 20, 2025) was an American soul singer-songwriter, producer, musician, and politician. He was the original lead singer of the R&B vocal group the Impressions, who were inducted into the Rock and ...
, 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 ABC,
Fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...
, and Uni. After an unsuccessful year with ABC, a move to Uni brought major success in 1969 with "There'll Come a Time", co-written by producer and lead singer of The Chi-Lites, Eugene Record. This peaked at No. 2 in the Billboard R&B listing (No. 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 The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...
. Her final recording was issued in 1980, again produced by Carter. Her awards include the BMI Pop Award (both for 1964 and 1991) and the BMI R&B Award (for 1964).


Later career

Until her death, Everett resided with her sister in
South Beloit, Illinois South Beloit, is a city located in Winnebago County, Illinois, USA. It is part of the Rockford Metropolitan Area, but it is also a suburban extension of Beloit, Wisconsin. South Beloit, is directly along the border of smaller cities and towns ...
, where she was involved in the Rhythm & Blues Foundation and the churches of the Fountain of Life and
New Covenant The New Covenant () is a biblical interpretation which was originally derived from a Book of Jeremiah#Sections of the Book, phrase which is contained in the Book of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:31–34), in the Hebrew Bible (or the Old Testament of the ...
. In 1989, a handler of Everett 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, the firm started work on reviving Everett's singing career. Within a year she contracted with Pollack taking on all management decisions and management financing. In 1984, her signature hit, "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)", was used for the opening credits in the U.S. print of the
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
film ''
Desperately Seeking Susan ''Desperately Seeking Susan'' is a 1985 American comedy-drama film directed by Susan Seidelman and starring Rosanna Arquette, Aidan Quinn and Madonna. Set in New York City, the plot involves the interaction between two women – a bored housew ...
''. In 1990, the song had a cover version in ''
Mermaids In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are ...
'' for the end credits, and was recorded by the star of the film,
Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...
. This reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart and charted well elsewhere in Europe. Everett had secured an indie label deal in the US and a new single "Don't Cry Now" had been recorded, penned by Larry Weiss (Trumpet Records, unreleased). 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 The Chicago Blues Festival is an annual event held in June, that features three days of performances by top-tier blues musicians, both old favorites and the up-and-coming. It is hosted by the Chicago, Illinois, City of Chicago Department of Cu ...
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 problems. 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 The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
special ''Doo Wop 51'', along with her former singing partner, Jerry Butler. This, according to ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' (August 2001), was met with raves about the brief reunion where she "brought the house down". 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, Wisconsin Beloit ( ) is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 36,657 people. Beloit is a principal city of the Janesville, Wisconsin, Janesville–Beloit metropolitan statistical area (Rock Co ...
, on August 19, 2001, aged 61.


Discography


Studio albums


Compilation albums

*1964: ''The Very Best of Betty Everett'' *1969: ''Betty Everett and the Impressions'' (with
The Impressions The Impressions were an American music group originally formed in 1958. Their repertoire includes gospel, R&B, doo-wop, and soul. The group was founded as the Roosters by Chattanooga, Tennessee natives Sam Gooden, Richard Brooks and Arthu ...
) *1993: ''The Shoop Shoop Song'' *1995: ''The Fantasy Years'' *1998: ''Best of Betty Everett: Let It Be Me'' *2000: ''The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)''


Singles


References


External links

*
Betty Everett at Soul Music HQ
{{DEFAULTSORT:Everett, Betty 1939 births 2001 deaths 20th-century African-American women singers American pop pianists People from Winnebago County, Illinois People from Greenwood, Mississippi Singer-songwriters from Illinois Singer-songwriters from Mississippi American women country singers American country singer-songwriters American gospel singers American rhythm and blues singers American soul musicians Allied International Records artists Vee-Jay Records artists One-derful Records artists American soul singers Cobra Records artists Uni Records artists 20th-century American women pianists 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American women singers Country musicians from Illinois Country musicians from Mississippi 20th-century American singer-songwriters African-American songwriters African-American pianists