Talkin' 'Bout The (Original) Real Thing!

Betty Everett - The Real Thing

Had Betty Everett's only recording been the 1964 pop and R&B smash "It's In His Kiss (The Shoop Shoop Song)" she would be forever anchored in pop culture history, but fortunately for us soul fans she recorded a wide range of material that truly showcased her varied soulful styles, be they deep bluesy soul like "Your Love Is Important to Me" on One-Derful! or tunes like today's selection on Vee-Jay (where she also hit with several duets with Jerry Butler), the smoother but awesome early '70s stuff she did for Uni and Fantasy ("Ain't Nothing Gonna Change Me" is a personal fave of her Fantasy sides), or funky disco things like "Hey Lucinda" (one of the final Sound Stage Seven 45s, which I need to feature one of thes days). By the time of her death in 2001 she had long been out of the spotlight, but she had a body of work that is worthy of investigation, especially for those who only know her for "Shoop Shoop!"

"The Real Thing" is probably better-known among Northern Soul fans as sung by Tina Britt, who covered the tune on Veep. Admittedly, Britt's version added a lot more pep and dancefloor groove than Everett's 1965 original, but there's a pop-soul magic to Everett's version that makes the original appealing to me. The Ashford-Simpson-Armstead-penned tune bops along with little harp flourishes and cheerful horn charts while Betty and the background singers really sell the song.

(EDITOR'S NOTE - Due to time constraints I will not be recording a podcast for April; I will, however, begin a two-week break from school on Tuesday of next week, so I plan to roll out Episode #17 in the beginning of May; look out for it!)