Making a Battle of the Bands out of the song I did for Song Lyric Sunday worked so well the last time, I thought I’d try it again.
The song I chose for Sunday’s Battle of the Bands was Linda Ronstadt’s "You’re No Good." I said at the time that Clint Ballard Jr. wrote it and that it had been recorded several times between 1963 and 1964. The first time, it was recorded by Dee Dee Warwick, the younger sister of Dionne, niece of Cissy Houston, and cousin of Whitney Houston and Leontyne Price. Released on the Jubilee label, it reached #117.
That same year, it was recorded by Betty Everett, who later had hits with "It’s In His Kiss (The Shoop Shoop Song)" and "Let It Be Me," a duet with Jerry Butler. Her "You’re No Good," on the Vee Jay label, reached #51.
1964 saw a cover by the Merseybeat group The Swinging Blue Jeans, who had a #2 hit in the UK with "The Hippy-Hippy Shake" the year before. Released on the HMV label in the UK, it reached #5; in the US, released on the Imperial label, it reached #97.
So, we have three contestants this round. Here’s what you need to do, should you wish to weigh in on this battle…
- Listen to the three songs.
- Decide which song you like the best.
- Vote for your favorite by leaving me a comment with your choice. If you feel like telling us why, feel free.
- Then, visit the other participants and vote in their Battles, if they have one:
- Stephen at STMcC Presents Battle of the Bands
- Arlee at Tossing It Out
- Mike at Mike’s Ramblings
- Cathy at Curious As A Cathy
- Mary B at Jingle Jangle Jungle
- Diedre at Streampebbles
- Debbie at The Doglady’s Den
Next Tuesday, November 22. at 12 noon Eastern Time, I will tally the votes and announce the winner of this battle, so be sure you’ve voted by then.
The lines are now open. Good luck to Dee Dee, Betty, and the Swinging Blue Jeans!
The Sound of One Hand Typing 
I like two really well…The Swinging Blue Jeans and I do like the Betty Everett version… But I’ll go with Betty’s version.
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I liked all three, but I think I’ll have to go with Dee Dee.
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I’m gonna buck the trend and go with Betty Everett. The others are a bit too “hard” for me.
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I like all of them. The Swinging Blue Jeans get my vote. I like their sound.
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Swinging Blue Jeans gets my vote.
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Loved this!
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As much as respect Dee Dee Warwick and Betty Everette my vote goes to the Swinging Blue Jeans just because it’s my favourite 💜💜💜
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I really enjoyed Dee Dee’s version that made it sound Bluesy, but with Motown in it. The other 2 were good but the first gets my vote
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I like Betty the best of these three but still partial to Linda Rondstadt’s version.
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I used this song a few years ago and one of my choices was Dee Dee’s version. In the end, she won the contest. One person made a write-in choice for Swinging Blue Jeans.
All of your versions are fine, but in the end I think I’m going to go with the loping tinkly piano version by Betty Everett. Nice and smooth.
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
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