tight person of the day: betty harris

When it comes to soul music, there is an unspoken rule. If your name is Betty, then you are primed to be the tightest person around. I mean, really! Betty Harris is a goddess. She looks eight feet tall and ready to dominate in that photo. Luv her.

I first learned of Betty through her cover of Solomon Burke's hit "Cry to Me." Dirty Dancing, anyone? She slowed it wayyyy down and it made things get real sexy. Which is hard to do, considering Solomon's was also sexing things up.

Here's the Solomon song:



And Betty's version:



So, you can see (or hear) that Betty is an amazing vocal talent. In the sixties, Betty was being produced by Allen Toussaint. She released several singles during this time, but never really had the breakout success of some other ladies we know today, like Miz Aretha. I really enjoy Betty's ballads. The song I'm sharing today is from 1968 and is a more upbeat Betty (even though she's singing about a mean man - just go with it).

Betty Harris - Mean Man