Betty Padgett - Betty Padgett * 1975

WebSite: bettypadgett.com

Who is Betty Padgett? This is the question Shane 'Deejay Sureshot' Hunt kept asking himself when he recently discovered her self-titled 1975 debut LP while browsing through a dusty back room at a Los Angeles record store. The record simply looked too good to be true. Was it a Sweet Soul? Disco? Dirty Funk, or possibly even a Reggae album? Very few records encompass all of these musical genres in one package, yet this album captures the eclectic reach of the Miami soul scene in the mid-1970s. Tracks like "Sugar Daddy" also sound amazingly contemporary, they could very easily be confused with a something new from the Quantic Soul Orchestra or Orgone

Rare Florida soul from Betty Padgett - a 70s singer who didn't chart nearly as high as some of her sunshine state contemporaries, but who sounds equally great on this rare self-titled debut! Like Gwen McCrae, Betty's got a great way both with mellow, soul-drenched tunes, and with funkier numbers - both of which feature strongly on this set - alongside a few really surprising tunes with a bit of a rocksteady groove! This last style is especially great - and provides a compelling Miami/Kingston soul link in the 70s, but with qualities that remind us of Jamaican soul from the decade before. Titles include two parts of the single "Sugar Daddy" - plus "It Would Be A Shame", "Rocking Chair", "Love Me Forever", "Never Never Never", and "Tonight Is The Night".

TRACKLIST
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01. It Would Be A Shame 04:37
02. My Eyes Adore You 03:05
03. Sugar Daddy Part 1 03:27
04. Tonight is the Night 02:55
05. Never Never Never 04:13
06. Gypsy of Love 04:36
07. Sugar Daddy Part 2 03:29
08. Rocking Chair 03:15
09. Love Me Forever 02:35