Betty Everett; R&B; Singer Known for Hit ‘Shoop, Shoop Song’

and wire reports

Betty Everett, an R&B; singer in the 1960s known mainly for her 1964 hit “The Shoop, Shoop Song (It’s in His Kiss),” has died. She was 61.

Everett’s body was found by family members Sunday morning at her home in Beloit, Wis. She apparently died of natural causes.

Born in Greenwood, Miss., Everett started singing and playing piano in church at age 9. She moved to Chicago at 17 to live with a sister. She eventually married and had a daughter. The marriage ended in divorce.

In the early 1960s, she recorded with modest success for several Chicago-area labels. Her career was somewhat stagnant until she signed with a larger Chicago label, Vee-Jay Records, and began working with producer Calvin Carter. Prodded into a new more pop-oriented direction, Everett had some success with a recording of “You’re No Good” in 1963. Years later, Linda Ronstadt recorded the song and it became a major hit.

In 1964, Carter urged a reluctant Everett to record “The Shoop, Shoop Song,” which to her amazement made it onto Billboard’s Top 10.

Following “Shoop, Shoop,” she recorded a duet with Jerry Butler, another well-known Chicago-area singer. That song, “Let It Be Me,” also rose to the Top 10.

She recorded other popular duets with Butler, including the single “Smile” and an album called “Delicious Together.” She also made a well-received tour of England in the mid-1960s.

When Vee-Jay records folded in the late ‘60s, Everett signed with ABC Records without much commercial success. Her last Top 40 hit was “There’ll Come a Time,” recorded for Uni records in 1969.

Everett retired from show business in the 1970s and moved to Beloit in the late ‘80s to be near her family. She led a quiet life, confining her singing to the church choir.

In 1996, she received a Pioneer Award along with a $15,000 check from the Rhythm & Blues Foundation in ceremonies at the Hollywood Palladium.

A funeral is scheduled for Thursday at the Forest of Life Church in Beloit.