Betty Harris

Renowned in deep soul circles for the devastating ballad "Cry to Me," singer Betty Harris was born in Orlando, FL, in 1941 and raised primarily in Alabama. The child of preachers, her deep church roots conflicted with her desire to sing secular soul music, and at 17 she left home to pursue a performing career, briefly apprenticing under R&B star Big Maybelle before eventually landing in California, cutting the 1960 single "Taking Care of Business" for the Douglas label. Record promoter Babe Chivian recommended that Harris relocate to New York City, promising her an audition with Brill Building producer and songwriter Bert Berns -- there she performed a slow, gospel-inspired rendition of "Cry to Me," an uptempo Berns-produced hit for Chivian's client Solomon Burke. Berns immediately dispatched Harris to the recording studio, and in just three takes she wrapped "Cry to Me," issued on Jubilee in 1963 -- after the record became a New York radio smash, it broke nationally, cracking the R&B Top Ten and the pop Top 40 in the process of surpassing Burke's original. Soon Harris headlined the legendary Apollo Theater, mounting a national tour after recording her Jubilee follow-up, "His Kiss" -- the single stiffed, however, and when "Mo Jo Hannah" met a similar fate, Berns opted to cut his losses. During a 1965 tour, Harris met New Orleans composer and producer Allen Toussaint, and with the superbly slinky "I'm Evil Tonight" became the first artist to record for his fledgling Sansu label. With Toussaint at the helm, the bluesy balladry of Harris' Jubilee sides gave way to a funky, sensual dynamic that heralded a new era of New Orleans R&B. The 1966 ballad "Sometime" was backed by the brilliant "I Don't Want to Hear It," Toussaint's edgiest and most aggressive production to date....