Music Deli

A great one-off performance from Betty Harris, who's been described as the 'lost soul queen of New Orleans'.

Betty Harris has only just returned to the music industry after some 35 years and her voice is as strong today as it was in the 60s, when she recorded her major hit 'Cry to Me'.

Her big break came in 1963 when her manager introduced her to Bert Russell Berns, the famous New York record producer and songwriter. Betty's favourite song at the time was one Bert Burns had penned, 'Cry to Me'. She knew Solomon Burke's version but had an idea to sing it much slower, and when Berns heard her in his office, he sent her upstairs to his arrangers and musicians to make a record and apparently it took only three takes. It went on to be a huge hit, landing in the Billboard R & B chart's top 10. She became an overnight success and had gigs at the famous Apollo theatre as well as lots of touring, including many with another R & B newcomer, Otis Redding. But after a decade of work and still no royalities, Betty chose to put her career aside and raise her young family.

Thirty-five years later her daughter discovered lots of soul fan tribute sites about her mother. Even though Harris had been out of the scene for so long, her reputation and recordings were still current. She'd been discovered by Christine Aguilera, who'd sampled Betty's 'Nearer To You' on her Back To Basics album.

And her career has started again. She's been to Australia twice and we caught up with her at the Queenscliff Music Festival in 2006 with a great band of local musicians led by Paul Williamson.
First broadcast in Music Deli in February 2007

Playlist

BETTY HARRIS IN CONCERT IN AUSTRALIA
Music Details:

1) Happiness Is Mine
2) Blind, crippled and crazy
3) Groove Train
4) Nearer You
4) I Ain't gonna love again
5) I'm Drowning
6) Losin' a good man
7) Cry to Me (Bert Burns)
8) Try a Little Tenderness (Jimmy Campbell)

Betty Harris, vocals
The Melbourne Soul Funk Allstars
ABC Music Deli Recording, Queenscliff 2006