Customer Reviews

Very Best of Betty Everett

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Betty's rousing version of It's in his kiss is the only song she is famous for, but the other twenty-nine tracks here demonstrate her versatility. Betty's first hit was You're no good, which was a top sixty American hit for her and has since become something of a classic. The Swinging Blue Jeans covered it and had a top three British hit with it, then Linda Ronstadt covered it in the seventies and had a number one hit in the American pop charts. Good as they are, neither of those versions is any better than Betty's.

Betty's version of Hound dog is brilliant, yet different from Elvis' version. She had a series of minor American hits with I can't hear you, It hurts to be in love and Getting mighty crowded - all of which are included here, but it's amazing that they didn't chart higher. Betty's classic duet with Jerry Butler (Let it be me) is also included.

For whatever reason, Betty, who had a strong, passionate voice, didn't become the big star that her talent deserved, but this is a highly entertaining collection of her music.

Whether you're a devoted fan of this Greenwood, Mississippi vocalist/pianist (born November 23, 1939), or a collector of hit singles, one thing you will have noticed is that it's impossible to find all 15 of Betty's hit singles, registered for four different labels from 1963 to 1978, in one compilation.

This one provides a thorough coverage of her 6 hits for Vee-Jay in 1963/64, omitting only the B-side to her minor chart entry I Can't Hear You, which ended up at # 66 Billboard Pop Hot 100 in July 1964 on Vee-Jay 599. That missing flipside was Can I Get To Know You? It's important to note too that Billboard suspended the R&B charts from late 1963 and throughout all of 1964, and that any chart entries you see now showing "R&B" for that period are the same positions reached on the Pop charts, and were only added much later as R&B results for "historical" purposes. Making them essentially useless as an accurate reflection of the R&B market.

For example, her first hit, You're No Good, wile only making it to # 51 Pop Hot 100 on Vee-Jay 566 b/w Chained To Your Love in late 1963, it likely would have been a much higher R&B entry had those charts been in place at the time. Even The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In A Kiss), while finishing at a healthy # 6 Hot 100 in the spring of 1964 (right in the midst of the opening phases of The British Invasion) on Vee-Jay 585 b/w Hands Off, would probably have gone all the way to # 1 R&B. As for Getting Mighty Crowded, that would also have done a lot better on the R&B charts than the # 65 Hot 100 in December 1964 on Vee-Jay 628 b/w Chained To A memory (Why Am I?).

The two Vee-Jay duets with Jerry Butler are also here, the # 5 in Sept/Oct 1964 Let It Be Me on Vee-Jay 613 b/w Ain't That Lovin' You baby? - a # 103 Hot 100 Bubble Under - and the 1936 Charlie Chaplin composition Smile, which hit # 42 in Dec 1964/Jan 1965 on Vee-Jay 633, b/w a cover of the Mickey & Sylvia hit, Love Is Strange.

After a 5-year absence from the charts, she then chalked up four more hit singles for the Uni label in 1969/70, and these, and their B-sides, are contained in the 1995 Varése-Sarabande compilation "There'll Come A Time," while the 4 she registered for Fantasy from 1970 to 1974 are in the 1995 Fantasy Years release. at the moment only used copies are available.

Good luck in trying to find a CD version of her final hit, which came in 1978 for United Artists (True Love (You Took My Heart) - a # 78 R&B in September 1978 on United Artists 1200 b/w You Can Do It, never mind the 3 sides she recorded in 1957/58 for Cobra Records, a Chicago West Side operation that ran from 1956 to 1959 by Eli Toscano and Howard Bedno and boasting the likes of Otis Rush, Willie Dixon, Magic Sam and Buddy Guy. Those impossible-to-find sides are: My Life Depends On You/My Love (Cobra 5019) in 1957, and from 1958, Ain't Gonna Cry/Killer Diller (Cobra 5025) and I'll Weep No More/Tell me, Darling (Cobra 5031) - the last sharing a billing with the Willie Dixon Band.

This is one of the most comprehensive compilations of Betty Everett's work with Vee Jay records(1963-1965). For those who may not know Betty Everett's biggest hit "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss)", which charted #6 U.S. R&B and #34 U.K. has been covered by just about everyone; although nothing beats the original. This great compilation has 30 tracks and although I can not review every song, I will point out some of my favorites.

The album opens strong with "You're No Good" (#51 U.S. R&B) which Betty sings with gusto. "Hands Off" an uptempo, rocking R&B song that highlights Betty's sweet gospel tones making the song very catchy; Elvis Presely later reworked it in 1970 and it became known as "Got My Mojo Working". "It Hurt's To Be In Love" shows Betty's ability to harmonize and tell a story. She gets really gutsy with "Hound Dog" and really makes the song her own. "Until You Were Gone" shows how well Betty could sing a ballard. "I Can't Hear You" was always one of my favorite songs by Dusty Springfield, but I didn't realize that betty had recorded it first in 1964. Betty's version is a little bit slower with more of a Gospel sound and it sounds great. Among the duets she did with Jerry Butler, some of my favorites include: "Let It Be Me" (#5 U.S. R&B), "I Can"t Stand It," "The Way You Do The Things You Do," and Just Be True," and the cool harmonic tones of "Smile" (#42 U.S. R&B). You can tell that they were having fun recording together.

"Chained To A Memory" was another great song later recorded by Dusty Springfield, but Betty was the first artist to record this great ballard and after hearing Betty's strong, clear passionate voice, I can see why Dusty wanted to do a cover. "Down In The Country" is a little bit rock, country and soul and the way Betty sings this with so much passion makes it another favorite of mine. "June Night" a challenging song, was first recorded by Miss Gloria Lynnein 1958, but Betty interpretation makes it hers. "The Real Thing," also recorded by Dusty Springfield is a great song and Betty's original withstands the test of time. Dusty Springfield has been quoted saying that she covered many songs by artists who she admired and respected, and always hope that she did a good job recording them; Betty Everett received special mention. I enjoyed the uptempo, snappy, Motown sounding "Too Hot To Hold" written by Ashford and Simpson, and the down home soul sound of "Your Love Is Important To Me."

Although her name may not be a household word, everyone will always remember her for "The Shoop-Shoop Song." Despite efforts to revive her career in the late 80's and early 90's, which were well received in Europe and the U.S. she declined to show for her concert at Trump's Taj Mahal in Atlantic City and the Greek Theater in Los Angeles (1991), due to stage fright. Health problems set in and unfortunately Miss Evertt died in 2001 at the age of 61. Although the last track "Please Love Me" sounds a little scratchy, this a great compilation with good liner notes and is a tribute to a great lady who had a fabulous voice. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!!!

I'm not too familiar with Betty Everett's work and my introduction was through Cher's remake of "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss)." I loved the catchy beat and lyrics of the cover version, so I was curious as to what the original sounded like. That led me to Amazon and downloading Everett's original version and I liked that one very much.

So I started researching what other offerings she had and that led me to this compilation IT'S IN HIS KISS: THE VERY BEST OF THE VEE-JAY YEARS. This CD really has some great tracks on it--some slow and some fast--and Everett's voice is strong and clear throughout. The mixed bag of songs really capture the sound of the early-mid 60s that wasn't "Motown."

It contains the original up-tempo version of "The Shoop-Shoop Song" and the song "You're No Good," which put Linda Rondstadt on the music map, and Big Mama Thornton's "Hound Dog," made famous by Elvis Presley. Other fun tracks include "Down In The Country," that sounds like a beach-surf rock song with its twangy guitar(but it's really about telling a country bumpkin to go back home); "I Need You So," a slow-ballad done in that yearning style so popular with female singers of that era; and "Too Hot To Hold," written by dynamo team Ashford & Simpson & Armstead, is a perfect go-go song with tambourines ringing.

The remastering is a mixed bag as well with some songs sounding louder and clearer than others but that probably has to do with the original masters and can't be helped.

It comes with a small booklet with liner notes and bio info on Everett (only one black & white photo) by Clive Anderson.

This is probably an urban legend but I read that it was the money generated from the sale of Everett's "The Shoop-Shoop Song" single that allowed Vee-Jay Records to buy some of the early Beatles songs and release them here in America.

Anyway, if you like 60s music just before psychedellic and outside of Motown (think music styles like those included on movies like Grease (Rockin' Rydell Edition) and the original Hairspray) you'll love IT'S IN HIS KISS!