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StoneBridge Extended Classic Mix
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StoneBridge Classic Dub
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Matt Consola Extended Remix
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Dave Matthias VIP Remix
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Dave Matthias Remix
The Return of an American Icon in quite an unexpected way.
Betty Harris is an iconic American soul singer. Her recording career in the 1960s produced three Top 10 & Top 20 hit singles that made the U.S. Billboard R&B
and Billboard Hot 100 charts: “Cry to Me” (1963), “His Kiss” (1964) and “Nearer to You” (1967). However, her reputation among soul music connoisseurs far exceeds her commercial success of the 1960s, and her recordings for the Jubilee and Sansu record labels are not only highly sought after in the 2000s by fans of Southern Soul, Northern Soul, and Deep Soul, but have been sampled to create new records and re-interpretations by artists including Christina Aguilera (2006’s “Understand). However, as her newfound popularity in the dance scene has skyrocketed, many European dance producers have been flooding the dance market with new tracks sampling Ms. Harris, most without permission, attempts to license and reimburse her in any way, and ALL without even giving her credit as the vocal sample. So what does an icon do? At the suggestion of legendary Swedish DJ/Producer StoneBridge who provides the releases premiere remix, she approaches America’s #1 LGBTQAI+ dance label to release an infectious and electrifying dance update to her 1968 #1 single “Show It”.
But first, a little backstory.
In 1964, Betty Harris switched record labels to Sansu, a New Orleans label, where she was produced by Allen Toussaint. Her recording with Sansu produced ten singles. Of those, only “Nearer to You”, an atmospheric, dramatic soul ballad, now considered one of the milestones of deep soul, achieved U.S. national chart success on Billboard. However, practically all of her recordings for Sansu, uptempo tunes and ballads alike, are considered prime specimens of the classic soul era.
Harris retired from performing in 1970 to raise a family. Without her permission or even a discussion, All of the
Sansu recordings were compiled into an album released in the UK (but not the U.S.) in 1969, called Soul Perfection, an album which, in its vinyl format, although not extremely rare, commands relatively high prices of $200 to $300 today. A comprehensive CD compilation of Harris’s recordings, titled Soul Perfection Plus, was released in 1999 by the UK re-release label, West Side.
In 2005, Harris returned to the music industry after a long absence. Betty has been in a decades-long copyright battle over the ownership of her music. Allen
Toussaint and Marshall Sehorn never paid her the royalties due her, and she now owns the sound recording copyrights for all the songs she recorded with Sansu, including “Nearer to You” and “Show It.”
Harris has made several public appearances in the U.S. and Europe, including the 2007 Porretta Soul Festival in Italy. And in March of 2013, Harris was part of a massive lineup of live artists for Willie Nelson’s 11th annual Luck Reunion. The event Luck, Antone’s and Gibson Presents: Strange Things Happening: A Tribute to Sister Rosetta Tharpe, 1915-1973 capped off the week of events at Luck on Sunday, March 19th with a Gospel Brunch like no other. A thoughtful and artist-packed tribute to the legendary Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the original “Soul Sister” who made an indelible impact on gospel and soul music. Line up includes The Binky Griptite Orchestra, with special guests Abraham Alexander, Amythyst Kiah, Betty Harris, Ruthie Foster, Valerie June, and many more.
In late 2022, Harris approached Sten Hallström, the legendary Swedish DJ, label owner, and Record Producer better known as StoneBridge. The man behind such iconic hit productions & remixes as 1993’s “Show Me Love” by Robin S, 2008’s Grammy Nominated Remix of “Closer” by Ne-Yo, “Gimme More” by Britney Spears, and his own Top 10 worldwide hits “Put ‘Em High”, “Take Me Away” and “Freak On” was approached by Harris to remix her 1968 single “Show It” into a modern dance track. From there, Harris reached out to American DJ, Producer, and Swishcraft Music label owner Matt Consola to remix, package, and release “Show It” in June 2023. The release will include StoneBridge, Matt Consola, and Dave Matthias Remixes.
The Austin Chronicle Article 2018
https://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/music/2018-03-29/betty-harris-understands/