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Betty Harris (born September 9, 1939 in Orlando, Florida, United States) is an American soul singer. Her recording career in the 1960s produced three that made the United States Billboard R&B and Billboard Hot 100 record chart: "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 Records and Sansu are highly sought after in the 2000s by fans of Southern soul, Northern soul and Southern soul.
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.
| 1962 | "Taking Care of Business" | "Yesterday's Kisses" | Douglas | 104 |
| 1963 | "Cry to Me" | "I'll Be a Liar" | Jubilee Records | 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 |
| 2007 | Intuition | Evidence |
| 1969 | Soul Perfection | Action (UK) | ACLP 6007 |
| 1980 | In the Saddle | Charly (UK) | CRB 1002 |
| 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 |
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