Betty Willis

Betty Willis (March 10, 1941 - January 1, 2018) was an American soul singer. She retired from music in the late 1970s and later found work with the U.S. Postal Service. In the early 1960s, Betty began singing at various clubs in Santa Ana, California and throughout Orange County. In 1962, she recorded a duet with Ray Lockhart as Betty & Ray on Rendezvous Records entitled and followed it up with a solo single entitled, 9957583 also in 1962. She also recorded two singles with the label as the lead vocalist of a studio group of singers credited as the The Instants (2). She occasionally sang with Santa Ana neighbor, Bill Medley (who eventually became the lower voice of The Righteous Brothers) at various local clubs. While The Righteous Brothers were signed to Moonglow (2) records, Betty and Bill Medley recorded a duet with one of Bill's songs entitled, 'My Tears Will Go Away' which was never released. Betty eventually hooked up with Wrecking Crew pianist, [a255183] who would produce her next record on the Philles Records subsidiary, Phi-Dan Records. Betty recorded a final single on the Mojo Records label in 1967 entitled, 8368806 which had been also recorded in 1966 by Rita & The Tiaras on Dore records. The A-side of the disc was written and produced by Jackie Avery and John Farris. Both original 45s of Betty's and Rita & The Tiaras' versions of the tune have exchanged hands for handsome sums on internet auction sites.