BETTY EVERETT

Best known for "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)," Betty Everett spent 1964 as of one of Black music's hottest stars.

She was born in Greenwood, Mississippi, on November 23, 1939. She and her siblings had a deeply religious upbringing. Beginning at age fourteen, Everett sang and played piano for choirs at the Joel Baptist Church and two other congregations in the area.

In 1957, she and her sister relocated to Chicago’s West Side, where Betty pursued a career in secular music. One night at Mel’s Hideaway, Everett caught a Magic Sam show. The bluesman knew she sang and asked Betty to get up on stage. As a result, she was both hired by Mel’s and got a contract with Magic Sam’s record label, Cobra. However, none of her releases did very well. And Cobra went out of business in 1959.

George “G.G.” Graves, a local radio D.J., teamed Everett up with a male vocal group, the Daylighters. They recorded one single together for the tiny C.J. label in 1960. It was followed in 1961 by a solo release. However, the public did not respond.

By late 1961, Everett was working with producer Leo Austell. He recorded four sides on her, arranged and produced by Monk Higgins. It was a departure from Everett’s earlier, bluesy, style to modern soul music. Austell put out “Your Love Is Important to Me” on his Renee label, then leased the master to George Leaner’s One-derful Records in early 1962. It made a bit of noise but was not exactly a smash. Leaner issued one more single on Everett, 1963’s “Please Love Me,” but it, too, did little.

Austell next made a deal with Calvin Carter of the big Chicago independent, Vee Jay. Their first release on Everett was a weak pop number called “Prince of Players.” The follow-up, however, was pure soul. Everett’s “You’re No Good” was one of two versions out at the same time; the other was by Dee Dee Warwick, sister of Dionne. Though Warwick’s record came first, Everett had the hit, taking it to #5 on the R&B chart at the end of 1963. (Eleven years later, Linda Ronstadt’s remake of “You’re No Good” hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.)

Everett’s next Vee Jay release became her only certified million-seller. An infectious uptempo with a punchy arrangement, “The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s in His Kiss)” spent three weeks at #1 on the R&B chart and hit #6 in the pop market. It also re-entered the charts as a 1990 remake by Cher for the movie Mermaids.

While she rode the charts as a soloist, Everett also sang duets with her labelmate, Jerry Butler. “Let It Be Me,” the four-year-old Everly Brothers hit, became a #1 R&B song and a top five pop smash. Everett closed out 1964 with “Getting Mighty Crowded,” a defiant mid-tempo written by Van McCoy (“The Hustle,” 1975). She also received that year’s BMI Pop and R&B Awards.

While 1964 was Everett’s biggest year, a combination of weak material and Vee Jay’s financial problems kept her from maintaining that success in 1965. When Vee Jay closed its doors a year later, Everett signed with ABC; but she was there for only one year.

By 1969, Everett was on Uni Records—home of Neil Diamond, Hugh Masekela, and Strawberry Alarm Clock (among others). Her initial release was the Deep Soul ballad, “There’ll Come a Time,” co-written by Eugene Record of the Chi-Lites. It became Everett’s biggest hit in five years, peaking at #2 on the Soul chart and #26 pop.

By late 1970, Everett had moved on to Fantasy Records and would later sign with United Artists. In the early ‘90s, she got an indie-label deal and recorded a new single, “Don’t Cry Now,” but it was never released. She also made a 20-minute appearance on the TV show, Current Affair. In 1991, Everett starred at the Chicago Blues Festival. She was also booked that year to appear at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City and the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, but was unable to make the gigs due to health problems.

Everett was inducted into the Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in 1996. She made her final public appearance five years later on the PBS-TV special, Doo-Wop 51.

Betty Everett, 61, died at home in Beloit, Wisconsin, on August 19, 2001.

Rock critic Dave Marsh included “The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s in his Kiss)” in his 1989 book, The Heart of Rock and Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made.

Charted singles:

“You’re No Good” (1963) R&B #5, Pop #51
“The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s In His Kiss)” (1964) R&B #1 (3 weeks), Pop #6
“I Can’t Hear You” (1964) R&B #39, Pop #66
“Happy I Long to Be” (1964) Pop #126
“It Hurts to Be in Love” (1964) Pop #109
“Let It Be Me” (with Jerry Butler, 1964) R&B #1 (3 weeks), Pop #5
“Ain’t That Loving You Baby” (with Jerry Butler, 1964) R&B #24, Pop #108
“Getting Mighty Crowded” (1964) R&B #28, Pop #65
“Smile” (with Jerry Butler, 1964-65) R&B #16, Pop #42
“Gonna Be Ready” (1965) Pop #117
“There’ll Come a Time” (1969) R&B #2, Pop #26
“I Can’t Say No to You” (1969) R&B #29, Pop #78
“It’s Been a Long Time” (1969) R&B #17, Pop #96
“Unlucky Girl” (1970) R&B #46
“I Got to Tell Somebody” (1970-71) R&B #22, Pop #96
“Ain’t Nothing Gonna Change Me” (1971) R&B #32, Pop #113
“Danger” (1973) R&B #79 “Sweet Dan” (1974) R&B #38
“True Love (You Took My Heart)” (1978) R&B #78