Bettye Swann (born October 24, 1944) – When The Game Is Played On You (1974)
This magnificent Philly soul tale of heartbreak and revenge should have been a hit, from the great singer/songwriter whose career should have been much bigger.
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Bettye Swann is a talented singer/songwriter who wrote her own #1 R&B hit “Make Me Yours” in 1967. Her sensational voice was packed with emotion and she should have had a much bigger career in subsequent years, but her later singles never caught on with the record buying public.
Betty Jean Champion was born in Shreveport, Louisiana. She grew up in nearby Arcadia and got her start singing gospel in church. As a teenager she joined a local vocal group called The Fawns, and at age 19 moved to Los Angeles to live with her sister and pursue a singing career.
Through songwriter Huey Harris, she was introduced to Alton “AC” Scott, who ran Money Records. He became her boyfriend, manager, and gave her the stage name Bettye Swann. In late 1964 he produced her debut single, “Don’t Wait Too Long” which she wrote herself. It was a minor hit, reaching #27 R&B by early 1965. She released two more singles on Money that did not chart.
In July, 1967, another song Swann wrote went all the way to the top of the R&B charts. “Make Me Yours” also crossed over to #21 on the Billboard Hot 100 and would be the biggest hit of her career. It was produced by Arthur Wright, who had also co-arranged “Don’t Wait Too Long.” Later that year, Money released her debut album Make Me Yours.
Another two singles followed, including a cover of “Don’t Look Back” by the Temptations which unfortunately did not improve on its brilliant demo version (h/t
) but had a stellar B-side, “You Gave Me Love.“ Neither came close to the success of “Make Me Yours.” In 1968, Swann left the label and Los Angeles behind when she split with Scott and moved with her new manager George Barton (who she later married) to Athens, Georgia.
She signed a new contract with Capitol Records and released multiple singles over the next few years, plus two albums that were both issued in 1969. In 1971 she changed labels again, and recorded the superb heartbreak tale “I’m Just Living A Lie” for Fame Records, produced by Rick Hall.
Swann switched labels yet again, this time to Atlantic. In 1973, she recorded four superb tracks at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia with the Young Professionals production team made up of LeBaron Taylor, Tony Bell, and Phil Hurtt (who co-wrote the Spinners #1 hit “I’ll Be Around” with Thom Bell).
The first single from these sessions was released the following year in 1974. The heartfelt breakup song “Time To Say Goodbye” was its A-side, and the single’s B-side featured the magnificent jam “When The Game Is Played On You.” Tom Moulton later created an extended mix that turned this already excellent Philly soul gem into ten minutes of pure heaven and let her vocals soar. Inexplicably, the single failed to chart.
The other single recorded at Sigma Sound was also released in 1974. With the funky cut “The Boy Next Door” as its A-side, it peaked at #71 R&B.
“All you young girls better listen…that boy next door you think is so jive…one day he may come back to haunt you…one day he just may blow your mind!”
Another Philly soul masterpiece was on the B-side, the breakup anthem “Kiss My Love Goodbye.” Tom Moulton remixed a superb extended version of this track as well.
After her husband and manager George Barton died in 1980, Swann sadly retired from the music industry. She changed her name to Betty Barton and settled in Las Vegas, where she became a Jehovah’s Witness and worked as a teacher for the next twenty years.
Earlier this year in February, 2023, the erroneous rumor spread that Swann had transitioned after a decade-long illness. Thankfully, social media posts from her friends and relatives cleared up the confusion and confirmed she is still with us.
Happy Birthday to the great Bettye Swann.
Further info:
“The Life And Times Of Bettye Swann,” by Derek Anderson, Derek's Music Blog, January 20, 2019.
“Mixed reports on the health of ‘Make Me Yours’ singer Bettye Swann,” SoulTracks.com, February 23, 2023.
#soul #funk #BettyeSwann
Bettye covered the Temptations' song “Don’t Look Back” on an album; but the demo version she [might have] recorded at home, where she accompanies herself on acoustic guitar, is pure gold and significantly superior to the studio version.