Songs with Earlier Histories Than the Hit Version

Help support this site! Consider clicking an ad from time to time. Thanks!

 
« Go Back to Previous Page «  

Tagged: Betty Everett

1960s, Soul

It’s in His Kiss (The Shoop Shoop Song)

First recorded by Merry Clayton (1963).
Also recorded by Ramona King (1963).
Hit versions by Betty Everett (US #6/R&B #1 1963 |UK #38 1968), The Searchers (1964), Bootleg Family Band (AUS #5 1974), Linda Lewis (UK #6 1975), Kate Taylor (US #49 1977), Cher (US #33/UK #1/IRE #1/SPN #1/NOR #1 1990).
Also performed by Linda Ronstadt & Phoebe Snow (1979).

From the wiki: “‘It’s in His Kiss’ was first rejected by the premier girl-group of the early 1960s, the New York-based Shirelles, and was instead first recorded in Los Angeles by Merry Clayton as her first credited single. Clayton had previously provided an uncredited female vocal to the hit ‘You’re the Reason I’m Living’ recorded by Bobby Darin as his debut on Capitol Records, and Darin had subsequently arranged for Clayton herself to be signed to Capitol.

“Clayton recorded ‘It’s in His Kiss’ – whose composer Rudy Clark was a staff writer for TM Music which Bobby Darin headed – in a session produced by Jack Nitzsche with The Blossoms (‘Stoney End‘, ‘He’s a Rebel‘) as chorale: the single was released June 10 1963 with no evident chart success.

Read more →

1960s, R&B

You’re No Good

Originally recorded by Dee Dee Warwick (US #117 1963).
Hit versions by Betty Everett (US #51/R&B #5 1963), The Swinging Blue Jeans (US #93/UK #3 1964), Linda Ronstadt (US #1/CAN #2 1974).
Also recorded (as ‘Olet Paha!’) by Eddy and the Lightnings (1964).

From the wiki: “The original version of ‘You’re No Good’ was cut by Dee Dee Warwick for Jubilee Records in 1963 with production by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller (‘Hound Dog‘, ‘Stand By Me’, ‘There Goes My Baby’, ‘Jailhouse Rock’.)

“During the playback of Betty Everett’s November, 1963 recording her Vee-Jay label-mates The Dells ‘were sitting on the wooden platform where the string players would sit… just stomping their feet on this wooden platform to the beat of the song as it was playing back… [Producer Calvin Carter] told the engineer ‘Let’s do it again, and let’s mike those foot sounds, ’cause it really gave it a hell of a beat.’ So we did that, and boom, a hit.’

Read more →