Bettye Swann

Swann was born in Shreveport, Louisiana on October 24, 1944,[2] as one of 14 children. She grew up in Arcadia, Louisiana, and moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1963.[2] Although some sources state that Swann was in a vocal group known as The Fawns who recorded for Capital Records in 1964, she refuted this, saying that she sang with a trio in Arcadia by that name.[3]

In 1964, Swann started a solo singing career, changing her name to Bettye Swann at the prompting of local DJ Al Scott, who became her manager. After a minor hit with the self-penned "Don’t Wait Too Long", her big breakthrough came with "Make Me Yours", which topped the Billboard R&B chart in July 1967 and made No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100.[4] In 1968, she split with Scott, moved to Georgia, won a new contract with Capitol Records, and had another hit in 1969 with her cover of the Jeannie Seely hit "Don't Touch Me" (No. 14 R&B, No. 38 Hot 100).[5]

In 1972, Swann transferred to Atlantic Records and had a pair of minor hits with "Victim of a Foolish Heart" (later covered by Joss Stone) and Merle Haggard's "Today I Started Loving You Again".[2] After leaving Money Records she lived for a short time in Athens, Georgia.[3] She continued to record until the mid-1970s, but with little commercial success. Her last public performance was in 1980, the year her husband and manager, George Barton, died.[3]

Swann later changed her name to Betty Barton, began working as a teacher in the Las Vegas area, and became a Jehovah's Witness. She retired and, according to a 2005 interview, suffered from a degenerative spinal condition.[3]

In 2015, multiple elements from Swann's 1974 recording "Kiss My Love Goodbye" were sampled in the Galantis single "Peanut Butter Jelly".[6] In 2019, Swann's "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" enjoyed a resurgence of interest when it was used as the closing song in the finale of the second series of The End of the F***ing World. In 2021, the Vermont-based rapper Subtex [Zeke Kreitzer] sampled the beginning lines of Swann's 1968 song, "(My Heart Is) Closed for the Season" in his track, "Love Art Pain". In 2023, Swann's song "Little Things Mean A Lot" was used in the "Volvo EX30 – It’s the little things[7]" commercial.

• Bettye Swann discography at Discogs