Betty Harris
Encyclopedia
Betty Harridick is an American Soul Singer. Her recording career in the 1960s produced three hit records that made the Billboard
R&B and pop charts: "Cry to Me" (1963), "His Kiss" (1964) and "Nearer to You" (1967). However, her reputation among soul music connoisseurs far exceeds her commercial success of the 1960s, and her recordings for the Jubilee and Sansu record labels are highly sought after in the 2000s by fans of Northern Soul
and Deep Soul.
, and released on the Jubilee record label. Taken at a slower pace, Betty's rendition turned the song into a top 10 R&B hit and Deep Soul classic. Two further singles were released on Jubilee, also produced by Bert Berns, with "His Kiss", another Deep Soul ballad, making the lower part of Billboard
Pop and R&B charts.
In 1965, Betty Harris switched record labels to Sansu, a New Orleans label, where she was produced by legendary New Orleans producer Allen Toussaint
. Her contract with Sansu produced 10 singles. Of those, only "Nearer to You", an atmospheric, dramatic soul ballad, now considered one of the milestones of Deep Soul, achieved U.S. national chart success. However, practically all of her recordings for Sansu, uptempo tunes and ballads alike, featuring Allen Toussaint's raw yet sophisticated Southern Soul arrangements behind with Betty's rich, distinctive vocal, are considered prime specimens of the classic soul era; some notable recordings were "I'm Evil Tonight", a beat ballad favored among Northern Soul circles; "I Don't Want To Hear It", "Show it" and "Twelve Red Roses", stirring uptempo tracks; "Can't Last Much Longer" and "What'd I Do Wrong", emotive Deep Soul ballads.
All of the Sansu recordings were compilated into an album released in the U.K. (but not the U.S.), in 1969, called "Soul Perfection", an album which, in its vinyl format, although not extremely rare, commands relatively high prices of $200 to $300 in 2007.
A comprehensive CD compilation of Betty Harris recordings was released in 1999 by UK rerelease label, West Side.
In 2004, Betty Harris returned to the music business after a long departure.
She has made several public appearances in the U.S. and Europe, including the 2007 Porretta Soul Festival
in Italy
, and has recorded a new album, Intuition.
Betty toured Australia
in 2006 and appeared on the TV Show RockWiz
where she performed Cry To Me and a duet of Love Lots Of Lovin' with Australian singer John Paul Young
.
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
R&B and pop charts: "Cry to Me" (1963), "His Kiss" (1964) and "Nearer to You" (1967). However, her reputation among soul music connoisseurs far exceeds her commercial success of the 1960s, and her recordings for the Jubilee and Sansu record labels are highly sought after in the 2000s by fans of Northern Soul
Northern soul
Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged from the British mod scene, initially in northern England in the late 1960s. Northern soul mainly consists of a particular style of black American soul music based on the heavy beat and fast tempo of the mid-1960s Tamla Motown sound...
and Deep Soul.
Career
In 1963, after being in the music business for a few years, Betty Harris recorded a slowed down version of Solomon Burke's hit of the year before, "Cry to me", produced by the original record's producer, Bert BernsBert Berns
Bertrand Russell Berns , most commonly known as Bert Berns as well as Bert Russell and Russell Byrd, was an American songwriter and record producer of the 1960s...
, and released on the Jubilee record label. Taken at a slower pace, Betty's rendition turned the song into a top 10 R&B hit and Deep Soul classic. Two further singles were released on Jubilee, also produced by Bert Berns, with "His Kiss", another Deep Soul ballad, making the lower part of Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Pop and R&B charts.
In 1965, Betty Harris switched record labels to Sansu, a New Orleans label, where she was produced by legendary New Orleans producer Allen Toussaint
Allen Toussaint
Allen Toussaint is an American musician, composer, record producer, and influential figure in New Orleans R&B.Many of Toussaint's songs have become familiar through numerous cover versions, including "Working in the Coalmine", "Ride Your Pony", "Fortune Teller", "Play Something Sweet ", "Southern...
. Her contract with Sansu produced 10 singles. Of those, only "Nearer to You", an atmospheric, dramatic soul ballad, now considered one of the milestones of Deep Soul, achieved U.S. national chart success. However, practically all of her recordings for Sansu, uptempo tunes and ballads alike, featuring Allen Toussaint's raw yet sophisticated Southern Soul arrangements behind with Betty's rich, distinctive vocal, are considered prime specimens of the classic soul era; some notable recordings were "I'm Evil Tonight", a beat ballad favored among Northern Soul circles; "I Don't Want To Hear It", "Show it" and "Twelve Red Roses", stirring uptempo tracks; "Can't Last Much Longer" and "What'd I Do Wrong", emotive Deep Soul ballads.
All of the Sansu recordings were compilated into an album released in the U.K. (but not the U.S.), in 1969, called "Soul Perfection", an album which, in its vinyl format, although not extremely rare, commands relatively high prices of $200 to $300 in 2007.
A comprehensive CD compilation of Betty Harris recordings was released in 1999 by UK rerelease label, West Side.
In 2004, Betty Harris returned to the music business after a long departure.
She has made several public appearances in the U.S. and Europe, including the 2007 Porretta Soul Festival
Porretta Soul Festival
The Porretta Soul Festival is a soul music festival that usually takes place in the third week of July in Rufus Thomas Park in Porretta Terme, which in the province of Bologna.-History:...
in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, and has recorded a new album, Intuition.
Betty toured Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in 2006 and appeared on the TV Show RockWiz
RocKwiz
RocKwiz is an Australian television quiz show series, focused on rock music, and broadcast on SBS One. It premiered in 2005.-Summary:The forty minute program airs on Saturday at 9:20 pm, and is hosted by Julia Zemiro. It is shot in The Gershwin Room at St Kilda's Esplanade Hotel, commonly...
where she performed Cry To Me and a duet of Love Lots Of Lovin' with Australian singer John Paul Young
John Paul Young
John Paul Young is an Australian pop singer who had a 1978 worldwide hit with "Love Is in the Air"...
.
U.S. Singles
- "Taking Care Of Business" / "Yesterday's Kisses" - Douglas 104 (1962)
- "Cry To Me" / "I'll Be A Liar" - Jubilee 5456 (1963)
- "His Kiss" / "It's Dark Outside" - Jubilee 5465 (1964)
- "Mojo Hannah" / "Now Is The Hour" - Jubilee 5480 (1964)
- "What A Sad Feeling" / "I'm Evil Tonight" - Sansu 450 (1965)
- "I Don't Want To Hear It" / "Sometime" - Sansu 452 (1966)
- "Twelve Red Roses" / "What'd I Do Wrong" - Sansu 455 (1966)
- "Lonely Hearts" / "Bad Luck" - Sansu 461 (1967)
- "Nearer To You" / "I'm Evil Tonight" - Sansu 466 (1967)
- "Can't Last Much Longer" / "I'm Gonna Git Ya" - Sansu 471 (1967)
- "Love Lots Of Lovin"' / "Take Care Of Our Love" (with Lee Dorsey) - Sansu 474 (1968)
- "What'd I Do Wrong" / "Mean Man" - Sansu 478 (1968)
- "Hook Line 'N' Sinker" / "Show It" - Sansu 479 (1968)
- "Ride Your Pony" / "Trouble With My Lover" - Sansu 480 (1968)
- "There's A Break In The Road" / "All I Want Is You" - SSS International 766 (1969)
- "Cry To Me" / "I'll Be A Liar" (reissue) - Jubilee 5658 (1969)
Vinyl compilations
- Soul Perfection - Action ACLP 6007 (U.K.) (1969)
- In The Saddle - Charly LP CRB 1002 (U.K.) (1980)
External links
- 2004 Interview with Betty Harris
- Betty Harris article on the Funky 16 Corners web site
- The Lost Soul Queen, article on Soulexpress Radio Web site at Allmusic websiteWebsiteA website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...