Betty Everett was born in Greenwood, Mississippi, in 1939, where she started to sing in church and to play the piano. At the age of eighteen, her family moved to Chicago, hoping to build a better life, and Betty embarked on a career in secular music.
In 1957 she signed for Elias Toscano’s Cobra Records, a small Chicago record company that specialised in Blues music. Three singles were released on the label over a two-year period, “My Life Depends On You”, “Ain’t Gonna Cry” and “I’ll Weep No More”, with input from Blues icon Willie Dixon and Ike Turner.

When Cobra hit financial difficulties, Everett moved to C.J. Records in 1960, one of several small labels owned by Carl Jones. C.J. issued “Please Come Back”, featuring Everett with a vocal group called the Daylighters, plus two Everett solo singles. When these failed to make any waves, Everett moved to Renee Records in 1962, where she cut four new tracks with producer Monk Higgins. They were her strongest songs so far and they were picked up by record distributor George Leaner for release on his new One-derful label. They sold well in Chicago and brought Everett to the attention of Calvin Carter, who offered Everett a contract with Vee-Jay in 1963. One of these songs, “Your Love Is Important To Me”, was later released in the UK on the Sue label.
Everett’s initial Vee-Jay single “Prince Of Players”/ “By My Side” made little impact, but her second entered the charts. It was a cover of a Dee Dee Warwick song written by Clint Ballard Jr, that Carter spotted on a visit to the Brill Building in New York, called “You’re No Good”.

It is an excellent version, slightly slower than the original, with a Bluesy inflection. It compares well with Linda Ronstadt’s later version that went to number one, and also with The Swinging Blue Jean’s cover that was a UK hit. The Everett version went to number five on the Cashbox Singles Chart and to number fifty-one on the Billboard R&B Singles Chart.

Things were looking up. Vee-Jay released four Betty Everett singles in 1964, the first of which made it to number one on the Cashbox R&B Chart and number six on the Billboard Hot 100. “The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s In His Kiss)” is just a great Pop song, with a bouncy rhythm and an infectious vocal line. The song was later recorded by Cher as part of the soundtrack for the film Mermaids.
Much better were the follow-up releases, “I Can’t Hear You No More” (a Goffin/ King song, covered by Lulu and Dusty Springfield in the UK)), “It Hurts To Be In Love” and “Getting Mighty Crowded”, which are significant additions to Chicago R&B. Sadly, they did not sell well.

The year ended with the release of two more singles that were duets with Jerry Butler, both covers of Everly Brothers songs. “Love Is Strange” and “Let It Be Me” are both well-known romantic ballads, to which Everett and Butler added a sprinkling of Soul. The latter went to number one on the Cashbox R&B Chart and number five on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart. Everything was looking rosy again!
The reality was somewhat different. Vee-Jay Records was embroiled in a series of lawsuits that eventually led to the company going bankrupt. Calvin Carter produced several more Everett singles in 1965, featuring several songs written by Motown songwriters Ashford and Simpson, in collaboration with Joshie Armstead. The best of them are “Too Hot To Hold” and “I Don’t Hurt Anymore”.
Then Betty Everett moved on, first to ABC, then to Uni and then Fantasy. Her final recording was released in 1980 (produced by Calvin Carter), after which she retired from the music business.
Vee-Jay released one Bettye Everett album, “You’re No Good” in 1963, which was re-released in 1964 with the new name of “It’s In His Kiss”. The album with Jerry Butler appeared in 1964, and a compilation “The Very Best of Betty Everett – Vee-Jay” followed in 1965.
Everett’s success at Vee-Jay led to the release of much of her earlier material, including the albums “Betty Everett and Ketty Lester” on Grand Prix Records, “Betty Everett and the Impressions” on Custom Records, and “The Impressions with Jerry Butler and Betty Everett” on Design Records. The UK company Charly has released several compilations of Betty Everett’s Vee-Jay songs, including “Hot To Hold” in 1980 and “Betty Everett – The Real Thing (Original Vee-Jay Recordings)” in 1987 (renamed “It’s In His Kiss” in 2005).

In 2020 three different companies released compilation albums of Everett’s best songs. That is an indication of her importance in the development of Chicago’s musical heritage. Unfortunately, Betty Everett was never a confident performer on stage, due to her shyness, which surely held her back.
In 1996 she was inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Hall Of Fame. In 2000, after twenty years of retirement, she was persuaded to do one last performance, as part of a PBS special called Doo Wop 51. Alongside her was Jerry Butler, and they stole the show with “Let It Be Me”!
Not long after, Everett died at home, in Beloit, Wisconsin, on August 19th 2001, at the age of sixty-one.