Betty Everett

Growing up in Greenwood, Mississippi, Betty Everett performed gospel music before moving to Chicago and shifting into secular styles. Her first recordings appeared on Cobra in 1958; she then moved to Vee-Jay in the early 1960s, where she began scoring chart entries. Although performed with passion and drive, her original version of “You’re No Good” made little impression until Linda Ronstadt transformed it into a number one pop hit in 1975. The follow-up single, “The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s in His Kiss),” became her breakthrough release and reached number six on the pop charts in 1964. That same year she scored again with the duet “Let It Be Me” alongside Jerry Butler, a soul reading of the Everly Brothers song that climbed to number five R&B. Her strongest solo outing arrived in 1969 with “There’ll Come a Time,” which rose to number two on the R&B charts and number 26 on the pop Top 30. Now on Uni, she remained with the label until 1970, continued recording for Fantasy through 1974, and issued one further album on United Artists in 1978. Her last public performance came during the 2000 PBS special Doo Wop 51; she died at her Wisconsin home in August 2001.