Betty Harris (born September 9, 1939 in Orlando, Florida, United States) is an American soul singer. Her recording career in the 1960s produced three hit singles that made the U.S. Billboard R&B and Billboard Hot 100 charts: "Cry to Me" (1963), "His Kiss" (1964) and "Nearer to You" (1967). However, her reputation among soul music connoisseurs far exceeds her commercial success of the 1960s, and her recordings for the Jubilee and Sansu record labels are highly sought after in the 2000s by fans of Southern Soul, Northern soul and deep soul.
Career In 1963, after being in the music business for a few years, Betty Harris recorded a slowed-down version of Solomon Burke's hit of the year before, "Cry to Me", produced by the original record's producer, Bert Berns, and released on the Jubilee record label. Harris's rendition turned the song into a Billboard Hot 100 number 23 hit, with a corresponding number 10 listing on the R&B chart, and it became a deep soul classic. Three further singles, including a reissue of "Cry to Me", were released on Jubilee, also produced by Bert Berns, with "His Kiss", which was released on January 4, 1964, another deep soul ballad, reaching the lower part of the Billboard Pop and R&B charts.
In 1964, Betty Harris switched record labels to Sansu, a New Orleans label, where she was produced by Allen Toussaint. Her recording with Sansu produced ten singles. Of those, only "Nearer to You", an atmospheric, dramatic soul ballad, now considered one of the milestones of deep soul, achieved U.S. national chart success (Billboard number 85). However, practically all of her recordings for Sansu, uptempo tunes and ballads alike, featuring Toussaint's raw yet sophisticated Southern soul arrangements behind Harris's rich, distinctive vocal, are considered prime specimens of the classic soul era; some notable recordings were "I'm Evil Tonight", a beat ballad favored in Northern soul circles; "I Don't Want to Hear It", "Show It" and "Twelve Red Roses", stirring up-tempo tracks; and "Can't Last Much Longer" and "What'd I Do Wrong", emotive deep soul ballads.
Harris retired from performing in 1970 to raise a family.
All of the Sansu recordings were compiled into an album released in the UK (but not the U.S.) in 1969, called Soul Perfection, an album which, in its vinyl format, although not extremely rare, commands prices of $200 to $300 today.
A comprehensive CD compilation of Harris's recordings, titled Soul Perfection Plus, was released in 1999 by the UK reissue label Westside.
In 2005, Harris returned to the music industry after a long absence. Betty has been in a decades-long copyright battle over the ownership of her music. Allen Toussaint and Marshall Sehorn never paid her the royalties due her, and she owns the sound recording copyrights for all the songs she recorded with Sansu, including "Nearer to You."
She has made several public appearances in the U.S. and Europe, including the 2007 Porretta Soul Festival in Italy, and has recorded a new album, Intuition.
Harris toured Australia in 2006 and appeared on the TV show RocKwiz, where she performed "Cry to Me","Betty Harris". RocKwiz. and a duet of "Love Lots of Lovin with the Australian singer John Paul Young."Betty Harris & John Paul Young", RocKwiz.
Discography
U.S. singles Year Title (A-side) Title (B-side) Record label Catalogue reference 1962 "Taking Care of Business" "Yesterday's Kisses" Douglas 104 1963 "Cry to Me" "I'll Be a Liar" Jubilee 5456 1964 "His Kiss" "It's Dark Outside" Jubilee 5465 "Mo Jo Hannah" "Now Is the Hour" Jubilee 5480 1965 "What a Sad Feeling" "I'm Evil Tonight" Sansu 450 1966 "I Don't Want to Hear It" "Sometime" Sansu 452 "12 Red Roses" "What'd I Do Wrong" Sansu 455 1967 "Lonely Hearts" "Bad Luck" Sansu 461 "Nearer to You" "I'm Evil Tonight" Sansu 466 "Can't Last Much Longer" "I'm Gonna Git Ya" Sansu 471 1968 "Love Lots of Lovin(with Lee Dorsey) "Take Care of Our Love"(with Lee Dorsey) Sansu 474 "Mean Man" "What'd I Do Wrong" Sansu 478 "Hook, Line 'n' Sinker" "Show It" Sansu 479 "Ride Your Pony" "Trouble with My Lover" Sansu 480 1969 "There's a Break in the Road" "All I Want Is You" SSS International 766
Albums Year Title Record label 2007 Intuition Evidence
Vinyl compilations Year Title Record label Catalogue reference 1969 Soul Perfection Action (UK) ACLP 6007 1980 In the Saddle Charly (UK) CRB 1002
CD compilations Year Title Record label Catalogue reference 1999 Soul Perfection Plus Westside (UK) WESA 807 2005 The Lost Soul Queen Aim (Australia) AIM 1502 CD 2016 The Lost Queen of New Orleans Soul Soul Jazz (UK) SJR 345
References
External links 2004 interview with Betty Harris Betty Harris article on the Funky 16 Corners web site The Lost Soul Queen, article on Soulexpress Radio Web site at Allmusic website