BELOIT, Wis. (Tue August 21, 2001) (AP) _ Singer Betty Everett, whose recording of ``The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss)' made Billboard's Top 10 in 1964, has died at 61.

Everett, a Mississippi native, lived in Beloit the past 15 years and remained involved in the Fountain of Life and New Covenant churches and the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. Family members found her dead in her home Sunday.

Everett is remembered primarily for one huge hit song in the 1960s, but she also recorded many other songs and was recognized as one of the top soul singers of her time.

Born in Greenwood, Miss. on Nov. 23, 1939, she played the piano and sang in church beginning at age 9. She continued to sing in gospel choirs and moved in 1957 to Chicago, where she recorded songs on record labels such as C.J. Cobra and OneDerful in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

She signed a contract with VeeJay, a record label that was issuing hits by the Beatles at around the same time. Her release of ``You're No Good' just missed the top 50 in late 1963 and was covered in the United Kingdom by the Swinging Blue Jeans. It would later be covered by Linda Lewis and Linda Ronstadt to become a hit song.

Everett recorded ``The Shoop Shoop Song' in the spring of 1964, and it soared to Billboard's Top 10. ``The Shoop Shoop Song' was later recorded by Cher in the soundtrack for the 1990 movie ``Mermaids' and more recently by Vonda Shepard of the Fox television show ``Ally McBeal.'

Other records such as ``I Can't Hear You' and ``Getting Mighty Crowded' extended her fan base. She then did a duet with another prominent Chicago area singer, Jerry Butler, and their single, ``Let It Be Me,' also made the Top 10 that year.

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