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Singer of '60s hit dies
Everett sang `Shoop Shoop Song'
Betty Everett of Beloit, WI, best known for her recording of ``The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss)'' passed
away Sunday, August 21, 2001, at the age of 61.
Family members found Everett in her Beloit home at 241 W. Grand Ave., Sunday.
Everett lived in Beloit for 15 years, leading a fairly quiet life, compared to her days of touring the world as
a successful singer
and entertainer. In Beloit she was a member of the Fountain of Life and New Covenant Churches and the Rhythm and
Blues
Foundation.
Born in Greenwood, Miss. on Nov. 23, 1939, Everett is remembered primarily for one huge hit song in the 1960s,
but she also was one of the best soul singers of her time and recorded many songs.
Starting at the age of 9, she played the piano and sang in church. She continued to sing in gospel choirs and eventually
moved
to Chicago in 1957. While there she continued to sing. She recorded songs on some of the local Chicago record labels
such as
C.J. Cobra and OneDerful in the late 1950s and early 1960s, coming up with local hits such as ``I'll Be There''
and ``I've Got a
Claim On You.''
She signed a contract with VeeJay, a record label that was issuing some hits by the Beatles at around the same
time. Her
release of ``You're No Good'' just missed the top 50 best selling records in late 1963 and was covered in the United
Kingdom
by the Swinging Blue Jeans. It would later be covered by Linda Lewis and Linda Ronstadt to become a hit song.
Everett recorded ``The Shoop Shoop Song'' in the spring of 1964, and it soared to Billboard's Top 10. Other records
such as
``I Can't Hear You'' and ``Getting Mighty Crowded'' extended her fan base. She then did a duet with another prominent
Chicago area singer, Jerry Butler, and their single, ``Let It Be Me,'' also made the Top 10 that year. Other Betty
Everett/Jerry
Butler duets came along, such as their single ``Smile'' and their LP ``Delicious Together.''
Everett completed a very successful tour of England in the mid-1960s in support of these releases. After VeeJay
Records
folded in 1967, Everett went to ABC without success before signing with Uni in 1969. It was with this record label
that she
recorded her last Top 40 hit, ``There'll Come A Time.'' This song was her first entry in the soul charts where
it went to No. 2.
Everett had five more entries in the soul charts on Uni and Fantasy records by 1971.
Visitation for Everett will be 11 - noon, Thursday at the Fountain of Life Church, followed by funeral services
at the church at
noon. Burial will be at the Floral Lawn Cemetery in South Beloit.
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August 21 — Betty Everett is remembered primarily for one huge hit in the 60's, but she was also one of the very
best soul singers and actually recorded many songs.
Born November 23, 1939, in Greenwood, Mississippi, Betty Everett moved to Chicago during the late ' 50s. She began
playing the piano and singing in church at age nine and these were two of her favorite activities.
As a teenager, Betty performed with Muddy Waters and Magic Sam. She moved to Chicago
during the fifties and found the going hard during her first years there.
Betty Everett recorded for several local labels, including Cobra and One-der-ful coming
up with local hits such as I'll Be There and I've Got A Claim On You. She signed a contract with VeeJay, a label
that was issuing some hits by the Beatles at around the same time.
Her release of You're No Good just missed the top fifty late in 1963 and was covered in the UK by the Swinging
Blue Jeans. Then she hit big.
Betty Everett recorded "The Shoop Shoop Song [It's In His Kiss]". In the Spring of 1964, it was a top
ten song. Other records, such as "I Can't Hear You" and "Getting Mighty Crowded" were not as
successful commercially. She did a duet with another prominent Chicago-area singer, Jerry Butler, and "Let
It Be Me" also made the top ten that year.
There were other Betty Everett/Jerry Butler duets. One was their single Smile and their
LP "Delicious Together". "There'll Come A Time" was her first entry in the soul charts, and
it made number two. It was also her last top forty hit.
After Vee Jay folded in 1967, Betty went to ABC without success before coming back on Uni in 1969 with "There'll
Come A Time", her last top forty hit. This song was her first entry in the soul charts where it went to number
two.
Betty had five more entrys in the soul charts on Uni and Fantasy by 1971.
She received the BMI Pop Award in 1964 and1991, and the BMI R&B Award in 1964.
"You're No Good" was covered by Linda Lewis in 1975, and went top ten in the UK, and went to number one
in the United States in a version released by Linda Ronstadt.
Betty Everett passed away in her Beloit, Wisconsin home in August, 2001.
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