BETTY PADGETT - S/T

One of the lesser known Betties of soul, Betty Padgett did secure some renown in Florida when she put out her debut in 1975 at the age of 21, and got regional dancefloor play with the two-part “Sugar Daddy”, a rare groove that could have been a bigger hit had it not come a bit early for the disco period. What is even more interesting about this record is that half of the tunes are actually reggae tracks. While it was not unusual for artists to throw in a token reggae song to up their hip factor, Betty turned up the lovers rock on four tracks here (including a version of “My Eyes Adore You”), and did it so convincingly that one would be forgiven for thinking that she cut the session in Kingston. For my money, these are the strongest selections here, so if you’re a fan of soul and reggae in equal measure, you won’t go wrong with this nice reissue.