She was born 1941 (or 1943 depending on the reference) in Florida to a Minister father and a missionary mother. As a teenager she went to work for R&B star Big Maybelle as a maid. Big Maybelle encouraged Harris’ talent, and in 1960 she recorded her first single, "Taking Care of Business" b/w "Yesterday's Kisses," for Douglas Records.

Via her association with Big Maybelle, Harris met the mighty Solomon Burke, who recommended her to his producer Bert Berns.

With Berns and Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller at the controls, she re-recorded Burke’s hit ‘Cry To Me’ for Jubilee Records in 1963. This went on to be her biggest hit, hitting #10 R&B and #29 pop. This was rereleased  in 1970 and charted again.  Harris’ version is a slower, deeply soulful take, filled with gospel flavor (aided by an auspicious backing group that included Cissy Houston and Dee Dee Warwick). The slower tempo allows Harris to spread out her velvety tone, exercising a fantastic dynamic range and control, punctuating things with the occasional growl. The flipside, ‘I’ll Be A Liar’ has some of the country/soul flavor of contemporary sides by Burke and Arthur Alexander, with a nice soulful touch at the end of each chorus.

The a-side of the follow up 45, ‘His Kiss’ has a similar sound, but it’s B-side, ‘It’s Dark Outside’ is a fantastic slice of moody, southern soul. Garry Sherman’s arrangement has a deep sophistication, reminiscent of some of the sides Bacharach and David were doing for Scepter with Dionne Warwick and others. The bluesy piano, and prominent placement of Eddie Bert’s mournful trombone make a solid foundation for Harris’s emotion-filled delivery.

The next 45, her last for Jubilee, was ‘Mojo Hannah’, an R&B classic, with lyrics that forecast her voyage into the heart of New Orleans. It was originally recorded by Henry Lumpkin on Motown (co-written by Andre Williams - the lyrics bear his humorous touch), and was also be covered by Larry Williams as ‘Louisiana Hannah’ and would later be a big New Orleans hit for Tami Lynn. The flip, ‘Now Is The Hour’ is another showcase for Harris’ way with a sloooow bluesy number. The way she starts the tune by stretching the word 'now' out to about six syllables is a joy to behold.

Of the two unreleased Jubilee sides, ‘Everybody’s Love’ is standard (over-arranged) pop fare and Harris’ voice is ill-used in this context. ‘Why Don’t You Take Him’ has the same basic failing, in that it seems like Berns, Leiber and Stoller were trying to force Harris into a different mold. While not horrible, it doesn’t contain the grandeur of her best work.

Harris met up with Allen Toussaint while on tour in 1965. Their partnership began with the very first single on the legendary Sansu label. It would last four short years but resulted in some of the finest records to come out of New Orleans (or anywhere else for that matter) in the 60's.

The Toussaint / Harris partnership mirrored that of Burt Bacharach and Dionne Warwick in many ways. Both Toussaint and Bacharach were prolific composers who specialized in following their songs from the first compositional idea all the way to the pressing plant. Unlike Bacharach, much of Toussaint's best work would elude the Top 40. Despite the fact that their five year association yielded only a single hit, the 20 sides they did between August of 1965 and March of 1969 were of a consistently high quality, acting as a showcase for Toussaint's prodigious compositional talents and Harris’s brilliant singing.

This is one of the great injustices of pop music history, and a testament to both the uniqueness and the insularity of New Orleans musical culture. In Betty Harris, Allen Toussaint found a spectacular voice with which to deliver his songs.

It is telling, that in Toussaint's prolific 1960's output, Betty Harris is literally the only significant female vocalist to appear on the list. Their collaborations exhibit a high level of arrangement and polish that is not evident in much of his other work from the same period. Listening to these records, it seems as if he was devoting special attention to detail. It was as if he was aiming directly for the mainstream, and banking on Betty Harris to get him (and his songs) there.

The first 45, 'I'm Evil Tonight' b/w 'What A Sad Feeling was an auspicious beginning. The a-side was a stylish mid-tempo tune with a classic Harris vocal. She slinks into the verse and turns up the heat - just enough - in the chorus. The b-side '..Sad Feeling' is typical of 'Toussaint's ballads. The pace is slower but it only serves to focus attention on the sophisticated melody, with Harris caressing every note.

Of the sides they recorded in 1966, the second 45 (Sansu 452) saw a pattern forming, backing a ballad with a more aggressive soul tune. This time, while the ballad 'Sometime' is good, the flip 'I Don't Want To Hear It' is a tour de force. The beat in the verse builds a sense of anticipation, and then Harris lets loose in the chorus. It's typical only in the sense that like many Toussaint crafted records, it should have been a hit.

Her third Sansu (455) 45, '12 Red Roses' b/w 'What'd I Do Wrong' is the first Betty Harris 45 that is clearly identifiable as a product of New Orleans. The hard beat of '12 Red Roses' shows the hallmarks of Toussaint's crack studio band, featuring the likes of guitar master Roy Montrell, drummer Gentleman June Gardner, and (Allen's brother) Vincent Toussaint. The sound is unmistakably that of the band that brought life to so many Lee Dorsey classics, as well as the records of Sansu label-mates like Eldridge Holmes and Curly Moore. 'What'd I Do Wrong' sounds like a Norman Whitfield tune after a pitcher of mint juleps. It moves along slowly with a vaguely sinister edge, and Harris delivers the lyric powerfully.

1967 was a hot year creatively for Allen Toussaint. In addition to classics like Curly Moore's 'Don't Pity Me' (on Sansu) and 'Hump Back' by Eldridge Holmes (on Jet Set), he had his greatest success with Betty Harris. Their second 45 of the year 'Nearer To You' (Sansu 466, with a resurrected 'I'm Evil Tonight' on the flip side) made it to #16 R&B and #85 pop. It is a languid, heartbreaking love ballad with subdued, bluesy piano (by Toussaint), and fantastic backing vocals. Harris wrings every bit of emotion out of the lyric without ever resorting to histrionics. This is perhaps her greatest talent, i.e. the ability to inject a substantial amount of real emotion into a performance without slipping into cliché. In this, and all other aspects of her incredible voice, she is a soul singer ripe for reappraisal. More focused and masterful than many better known singers of her time, and light years beyond what passes for 'soul' singing these days. While 'Nearer To You' may have been the big chart hit, 'Can't Last Much Longer' (Sansu 471) is the bravura ballad performance of her career. Taken at an almost achingly slow waltz tempo, 'Can't Last Much Longer' is injected with a tremendous amount of 'gospel' feeling. Listen for Toussaint's organ, creeping around the periphery of the tune, rising for a brief solo in the middle of the song and fading away again.

Of the four 45's she did in 1967, my favorite is her pairing with Lee Dorsey. 'Love Lots Of Lovin'' b/w 'Take Care of Our Love' (Sansu 474 and Buffalo 1002 in the UK) is one of the great two-siders in the annals of New Orleans soul. 'Love Lots of Lovin' ' is great, upbeat duet with Toussaint's piano high in the mix. 'Take Care of Our Love' is one Toussaint's best ballad compositions, and both Dorsey (who's performance suggests that he should have recorded more ballads) and Harris rise to the occasion.

In 1968, Harris and Toussaint left the ballads behind for a more aggressive soul sound. In a just world, 'Mean Man' (Sansu 478, with 'What'd I Do Wrong' making it's second appearance on the b-side) would have been a smash. A great vocal by Harris, wrapped around one of Toussaint's more pop-oriented songs, and a fantastic arrangement that soars at the bridge. 'Hook Line and Sinker' (not the same song that Art Neville cut for Instant, which was an Eddie Bo composition), and it's b-side 'Show it' (Sansu 479) are both upbeat tunes with arrangements that show a slight return to pop polish, while still retaining an undercurrent of New Orleans funk.
The last Betty Harris single of 1968 was an important stylistic transition, moving her in direction of a deeper, grittier funk due in large part to the presence of the musicians that would become the Meters. 'Trouble With My Lover' is a soulful juggernaut, that possesses an awesome forward motion. When Harris cries "….OOOOHHHHHH THE MAN'S ALLLLLRIGHHT!" she sounds as if she's about to swoon from the song's power. The flip-side, a storming cover of the Lee Dorsey classic 'Ride Your Pony' is a killer, and made this record a club favorite in the UK (where it was issued on the Action label).

In a grand tradition, Harris and Toussaint saved the best for last. Betty Harris' last 45 (in March of 1969) was written and recorded by Toussaint, but leased to SSS International (home to another great New Orleans classic, Danny White's 'Natural Soul Brother'). The ballad side, 'All I Want Is You' saw Toussaint edging back into Bacharach's territory, juxtaposing a complex melody with a polished arrangement. It was the other side of this disc however, that stands today as one of the greatest of New Orleans funk records. 'There's A Break In The Road' is as powerful and imaginative funk record as you're ever likely to hear. Here the Meters' sound is clearly evident. The record opens with a throbbing George Porter bass line, followed by the howl of feedback (?!?!), the crack of Ziggy Modeliste's snare and a burst of horns, breaking down into a wild, off-kilter beat. Harris jumps into the mix at full-tilt and powers her way through the verses. Each chorus is marked by Modeliste's wild drumming, powerful and funky enough to rival even the mighty James Black. All throughout the song, Leo Nocentelli's guitar is feeding back. Everyone, especially Harris is operating at 150%, pulling out all the stops as if they realized that this was to be her last record and they needed to make it a landmark. The end result is a masterpiece, and a must have for any serious fan of funky New Orleans.

After 1970, Harris left music (though I have heard rumors of at least one other 45). Stories about her post-Toussaint life see her acting as James Carr's road manager (there's a story in there to be sure), and driving a tractor-trailer. One can only imagine what kind of music she would have made had she not decided to retire. Fortunately, it's possible to hear almost everything Betty Harris ever recorded on a single CD. Westside Records in the UK has compiled all of her Jubilee, Sansu and SSS International recordings on the CD 'Betty Harris: Soul Perfection Plus' (the title is a reference to 'Soul Perfection', the collection of Sansu sides released by Action in the UK in the late 60's). The sound and the annotation are outstanding, and the opportunity to track the progress of an artist so talented yet so little known is invaluable. Many other Harris tracks appear on various comps, including the fantastic 'New Orleans Funk' and 'Saturday Night Fish Fry' collections from Soul Jazz in the UK