Bettye Swann (born Betty Jean Champion; October 24, 1944), also known as Betty Barton, is 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. She is best known for her 1967 hit song " Make Me Yours".

Career

Swann was born in

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...

on October 24, 1944, as one of 14 children. She grew up in

Arcadia, Louisiana Arcadia is a town in and the parish seat of Bienville Parish in northern Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,919 at the 2010 census. Arcadia has the highest elevation of any incorporated municipality in Louisiana. Arcadia's name co ...

, and moved to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, in 1963. Although some sources state that Swann was in a vocal group known as The Fawns who recorded for Capital Records in 1964, she refuted this, saying that she sang with a trio in Arcadia by that name. In 1964, Swann started a solo singing career, changing her name to Bettye Swann at the prompting of local DJ Al Scott, who became her manager. After a minor hit with the self-penned "Don’t Wait Too Long", her big breakthrough came with " Make Me Yours", which topped the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' R&B chart in July 1967 and made No. 21 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In 1968, she split with Scott, moved to Georgia, won a new contract with

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

, and had another hit in 1969 with her cover of the

Jeannie Seely Marilyn Jeanne Seely (born July 6, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, actress and author. Primarily identified with country music, Seely found success with the Grammy Award-winning song " Don't Touch Me" (1966). Her soul-ins ...

hit "

Don't Touch Me "Don't Touch Me" is a song written by Hank Cochran. It was originally written for and recorded by American country artist Jeannie Seely. The song was released as a single on Monument Records in March 1966 and became a major ''Billboard'' country ...

" (No. 14 R&B, No. 38 Hot 100). In 1972, Swann transferred to

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

and had a pair of minor hits with "Victim of a Foolish Heart" (later covered by

Joss Stone Joscelyn Eve Stoker (born 11 April 1987), known professionally as Joss Stone, is an English singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to prominence in late 2003 with her multi-platinum debut album, ''The Soul Sessions'', which made the 2004 Merc ...

) and

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential figures in country music, he was a central pioneer of the Bakersfield ...

's " Today I Started Loving You Again". After leaving Money Records she lived for a short time in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, Georgia. She continued to record until the mid-1970s, but with little commercial success. Her last public performance was in 1980, the year her husband and manager, George Barton, died. Swann later changed her name to Betty Barton, began working as a teacher in the

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

area, and became a

Jehovah's Witness Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co- ...

. She retired and, according to a 2005 interview, suffered from a degenerative spinal condition. In 2015, multiple elements from Swann's 1974 recording "Kiss My Love Goodbye" were sampled in the

Galantis Galantis is a Swedish electronic music act consisting of producer Christian "Bloodshy" Karlsson. Formerly, they were a duo, alongside rising musician Style of Eye, until he decided to part ways with the project shortly after their second albu ...

single " Peanut Butter Jelly". In 2019, Swann's "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" enjoyed a resurgence of interest when it was used as the closing song in the finale of the second series of '' The End of the F***ing World''. In 2021, the Vermont-based rapper Subtex eke Kreitzersampled the beginning lines of Swann's 1968 song, "(My Heart Is) Closed for the Season" in his track, "Love Art Pain". In 2023, Swann's song "Little Things Mean A Lot" was used in the "Volvo EX30 – It’s the little things" commercial.

Discography

Albums

*1967: ''Make Me Yours'' (Money) *1969: ''The Soul View Now'' (Capitol) - R&B #48 *1969: ''Don't You Ever Get Tired of Hurting Me'' (Capitol) *1990: ''Sweet Dreams'' (Capitol) *2001: ''The Money Recordings'' (Kent) *2004: ''Bettye Swann'' (

Astralwerks Astralwerks (or Astralwerks Records) is an American record label primarily focused on electronic music that is now owned by Universal Music Group. Its material is distributed via Capitol Music Group in the United States. The label was founded in ...

/ Honest Jon's) *2014: ''The Complete Atlantic Recordings'' (Rhino) *2015: ''The Very Best of Bettye Swann'' (Kent)

Singles

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Swann, Bettye 1944 births Living people Musicians from Shreveport, Louisiana African-American women singer-songwriters American women singer-songwriters American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters Apex Records artists Atlantic Records artists Capitol Records artists Singer-songwriters from Louisiana People from Arcadia, Louisiana 21st-century African-American women singers 21st-century American women singers 20th-century African-American women singers 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers