Great soul music is like tonic for what ails you, I find. Whenever I am in a depression about something in my life that's been going wrong and dragging me down, I like to put on same great soul music and I am instantly joyful once again.
The blues is a great kind of music to listen to when your mood is sour. When you listen to all of the bad things the singer is singing about, it makes you feel a little better about yourself and your own life. Blues is not feel bad music, it's feel better about your own situation music, and since soul is just a generation removed from the blues, it seems to have the same effect, at least on me.
The effect on people who listen to it is a great juxtaposition about the lives of the very musicians and singers who created classic soul music. While many, if not most, of them have come from deep poverty and end up returning to it due to musical tastes changing, bad business deals, drug problems, and what have you, the music which they've created always makes me feel better — even though it may not always have served their lives well. There are so many sad soul stories it would make Badfinger's story seem like a fairy tale.
Thankfully, singer Betty Harris has not suffered such a sad fate.
Born in Orlando, Florida in 1941, Harris was raised in Alabama. A child of two preachers, her desire to sing secular music didn't mesh well with her religious upbringing and gospel roots. So at 17 she left home to pursue a career in music. She briefly apprenticed under R&B singer Big Maybelle and then moved to California, cutting a single in 1960 called "Taking Care of Business" for a small label.
A record promoter recognized Harris' talent and recommended Harris move to New York City, offering to set Harris up with an interview with Brill Building songwriter Bert Berns. Once in front of Berns, Harris performed a slow rendition of Bern's song "Cry To Me" which had previously been a big hit for soul singer Solomon Burke. Upon hearing this re-interpretation of his song, Berns rushed Harris into the studio to cut it as a single. The single ended up becoming a classic and did better on the charts than Burke's.
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