Betty & Dupree (Chicago, Il.)
aka Etta & Harvey
Personnel :
Etta James
Harvey Fuqua
Discography :
Betty & Dupree
Single :
1959 - I Hope You're Satisfied / If It Ain't One Thing (Kent 318)
Unreleased :
1959 - We're In Love (Kent)
Etta & Harvey
1960 - If I Can't Have You / My Heart Cries (Chess 1760)
1960 - Spoonful / It's A Crying Shame (Chess 1771)
Biography :
The
success of "Roll with Me Henry" on the Bihari brothers' Modern label
prompted Etta James to split from the Peaches and pursue a solo career.
She had a few more but minor hits, notably "Good Rockin' Daddy" (1955)
and "Tough Lover" (1956 ). She also did some appealing duets with Harvey
Fuqua of the Moonglows as "Betty and Dupree," but by the late 1950s
James had fallen into obscurity.
James and Fuqua were also romantically involved, and Fuqua, who was becoming more immersed in A&R work for Chess, was thus the reason that James left Modern and joined Chess in 1959. James and Fuqua were quickly recorded together under the name of "Etta and Harvey," and came up with a fine double-sided hit, "My Heart Cries' and 'If I Can't Have You" (1960).
But the songs harked back to the 1950s and did not represent James'
subsequent work on chess. There was another Etta & Harvey duet
release in December 1960. This time it was "Spoonful"/"It's A Crying
Shame."
Robert Pruter "Chicago Soul"
Songs :
Betty & Dupree
I Hope You're Satisfied If It Ain't One Thing
We're in Love
Etta & Harvey
If I Can't Have You My Heart Cries
Spoonful It's A Crying Shame