Bettye Swann Special - Part III: The Fame & Atlantic Years (1971-1976)

This is the last of the three posts I have dedicated to the great Bettye Swann, spanning her entire recording career for Money, Capitol, Fame and Atlantic between 1964 and 1976. After working for Capitol, Bettye switched to Rich Hall's Fame label while it was being distributed by Capitol, releasing 1971's 'I'm Just Living a Lie' / 'I Can't Let You Break My Heart'. Swann then landed at Atlantic, but still retained the Fame link. During her time at Atlantic in the early to mid '70s she recorded at Muscle Shoals where she cut the #16 soul hit, 'Victim of a Foolish Heart', the first of half a dozen hits for her with the label. Her next Atlantic effort, 'I'd Rather Go Blind,' was notable in large part for its B-side, a reading of Merle Haggard's 'Today I Started Loving You Again,' that proved once more Swann a superb interpreter of country-soul. 1973's 'Yours Until Tomorrow' was backed by another Nashville cover, this time Tammy Wynette's 'Til I Get It Right.' While at Atlantic in the early '70s, some of her Money recordings, including her album Make Me Yours, were re-released on A-Bet, the Nashville-based successor to the renowned Excello blues and R&B imprint. Bettye also recorded at Atlantic in New York City, and at the famous Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia, where the Northern Soul biggie 'Kiss My Love Goodbye' was captured. This song found Swann operating firmly in Philly soul territory, its slick, urbane production courtesy of the Young Professionals team of LeBaron Taylor, Phil Hurtt, and Tony Bell. She made a return to the lower rungs of the Billboard Hot 100 with its A-side 'The Boy Next Door,' while 1975's 'All the Way in or All the Way Out' enjoyed minor chart success. Betty's last visit to the charts was a duet with Sam Dees of 'Storybook Children' in 1975 on the Big Tree label, an Atlantic distributed label. A last single 'Heading in the Right Direction' / 'Be Strong Enough to Hold On' was released on Atlantic in 1976, but without commercial success. Her last public performance as Bettye Swann was in 1980, the year her husband and manager, George Barton, died. As Betty Barton, she then worked in the education sector in the Las Vegas, Nevada area, and became a Jehovah's Witness. She is now retired and, according to a 2005 interview, suffers from a degenerative spinal condition. http://www.answers.com/, http://en.wikipedia.org/

AA