Soul on Sunday - Kiss My Love Goodbye/Bettye Swann

It was always tough for female soul singers to get noticed - with Aretha Franklin and Diana Ross dominating airplay, many excellent artistes never got the attention they deserved. Bettye Swann is one such singer. Starting out on Money Records, she managed one bona fide hit "Make me yours" in 1967. A year later she moved on to Capitol where her most successful single was "Don't Touch Me" in 1969.

In 1970 she moved to Atlantic, and her output became more influenced by the "Philly Sound". My favourite example of this stage in her career is "Kiss my love goodbye". Dealing with the classic theme of a girl who walks out on her man after catching him cheating on her, Bettye's vocal is subtly restrained, allowing the strings to drive the song.

Momma didn't raise no fool:


Unfortunatley there doesn't seem to be a collection of her Atlantic output currently available, so you'll need to search out compilations with songs from this period on.

I recommend:

Creme de la Creme - Philly Soul Classics and Rarities

The Money Years:

The Money Recordings