In February 1975, country rock vocalist Linda Ronstadt scored her first # 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with her single “You’re No Good” off her double-platinum album Heart Like A Wheel. The track took Ronstadt’s career to another level, and many music fans assume Ronstadt’s was the debut recording. Not true!
In 1963, Betty Everett, a Chicago soul vocalist and pianist, released the first version of the song that would crack the Hot 100 at # 51. Everett’s recording, also compelling, proceeds at a bit slower tempo and features bluesy piano and horn accents and a slinky little baritone guitar solo (Everett’s very next single, “The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s in His Kiss)” would climb to # 6 on the Hot 100 and sell over a million copies). So have a listen to Betty’s version!
By Robb Patryk
Betty Everett – “You’re No Good”
