"Betcha by Golly, Wow" is a song written by

Thom Bell Thomas Randolph Bell (January 26, 1943 – December 22, 2022) was an American record producer, arranger, and songwriter known as one of the creators of Philadelphia soul in the 1970s. Hailed as one of the most prolific R&B songwriters and prod ...

and

Linda Creed Linda Diane Creed (December 6, 1948 – April 10, 1986), also known by her married name Linda Epstein, was an American songwriter, lyricist, background singer and record producer who teamed up with Thom Bell to produce some of the most successfu ...

, originally titled "Keep Growing Strong" and recorded by American actress and singer

Connie Stevens Connie Stevens (born Concetta Rosalie Ann Ingoglia; August 8, 1938) is an American actress and singer. Born in Brooklyn to musician parents, Stevens was raised there until the age of 12, when she was sent to live with family friends in rural Mi ...

under the

Bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...

label in 1970. Stevens' recording runs two minutes and thirty seconds. The composition later became a hit when it was released by the

Philadelphia soul Philadelphia soul, sometimes called Philly soul, the Philadelphia sound, Phillysound, or The Sound of Philadelphia (TSOP), is a genre of late 1960s–1970s soul music characterized by funk influences and lush string and horn arrangements. The ...

group

the Stylistics The Stylistics are an American Philadelphia soul group that achieved their greatest chart success in the 1970s. They formed in 1968, with a lineup of singers Russell Thompkins Jr., Herb Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith, and James Dunn. All ...

in 1972 under its better known title, "Betcha by Golly, Wow".

The Stylistics version

One year after Stevens' original version was released, the Stylistics recorded a more successful cover version as an R&B ballad under the name the song is best known, "Betcha by Golly, Wow". It was the third track from the Stylistics' 1971 debut self-titled album; released as a single in 1972, it reached No. 3 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Hot 100 chart. ''Billboard'' ranked it as the No. 18 song for 1972. It also climbed to No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart, and reached No. 13 on the UK Singles Chart in July 1972. The single sold over one million copies globally, earning the band a

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

The award was presented by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

on April 17, 1972. It was the band's second gold disc. There are two mixes of the song; the 3:17 version released as a single is the one most familiar to listeners, while the 3:48 album version has an instrumental break prior to the song's finale.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Norman Connors / Phyllis Hyman version Another version of "Betcha by Golly, Wow!" was released 1976 by American musician

Norman Connors Norman Connors (born March 1, 1947) is an American jazz drummer, composer, arranger, and producer who has led a number of influential jazz and R&B groups. He also achieved several big R&B hits of the day, especially with love ballads. He is poss ...

on his

Buddah Records Buddah Records (later known as Buddha Records) was an American record label founded in 1967 in New York City. The label was born out of Kama Sutra Records, an MGM Records-distributed label, which remained a key imprint following Buddah's foundin ...

album "

You Are My Starship ''You Are My Starship '' is an album by the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania jazz drummer Norman Connors. Released in 1976 on Buddah Records, it featured bass player/vocalist Michael Henderson and Philadelphia vocalist Phyllis Hyman. The album reach ...

" featuring

Phyllis Hyman Phyllis Linda Hyman (July 6, 1949 – June 30, 1995) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Hyman's music career spanned the late 1970s through the early 1990s, and she was best known for her expansive contralto range. Some of her most ...

on vocals. What sets this version apart is the extended length (6:23), with alto and soprano saxaphone riffs by Carter Jefferson and

Gary Bartz Gary Bartz (born September 26, 1940) is an American jazz saxophonist. He has won two Grammy Awards. Biography Bartz was first exposed to jazz as the son of the owners of a jazz nightclub in Baltimore. In 1958 he left Baltimore to study at the J ...

. This version reached #29 on 1976 US R&B charts.

Prince version

Another version of "Betcha by Golly, Wow!" was released by American musician

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

(his stage name at that time being a symbol with no known pronunciation, see cover art) on his 20th album, ''

Emancipation Emancipation generally means to free a person from a previous restraint or legal disability. More broadly, it is also used for efforts to procure Economic, social and cultural rights, economic and social rights, civil and political rights, po ...

'' (1996). Prince had stated that he always wanted to release his own version but his record company,

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

, had not permitted it. The

CD single A CD single is a single (music), music single in the form of a compact disc (CD). Originally the ''CD single'' standard (as defined in the Rainbow Books, Red Book) was an 8 cm (3-inch) "mini CD" (''CD3''); later on the term referred to any si ...

was released in two formats in the UK, one with a picture sleeve and one with an orange cardboard sleeve that included a

picture disc Picture discs are gramophone record, gramophone (phonograph) records that show images on their playing surface, rather than being of plain black or colored vinyl. Collectors traditionally reserve the term picture disc for records with graphics ...

and a mini-poster. The song was also issued on cassette. All versions of the single had "Right Back Here in My Arms" as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

. Both tracks were the album versions. The track was released as a promotional single in the US; a music video was also produced. The song was released on Mayte Garcia's (Prince's then-wife) 23rd birthday. Garcia also appeared in the video; she played herself in the doctor's office, confirming she is pregnant and revealing this to Prince when he walks into the room. One of the backgrounds of the video is Prince's own Paisley Park Studios. It charted fairly well in the US, based on

airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...

figures (in the US promotional singles were not allowed to chart until late 1998) and almost made the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart.

Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the musi ...

of ''

'' stated, "He follows the blueprint of the

Stylistics Stylistics, a branch of applied linguistics, is the study and interpretation of texts of all types, but particularly literary texts, and spoken language with regard to their linguistic and tonal style, where style is the particular variety of l ...

' original recording almost to the letter, offering only the scant and fleeting hints of the offbeat brilliance on which he has built his career. That said, this is certainly a pleasant and hit-worthy effort, thanks in large part to a sweetly romantic

falsetto Falsetto ( , ; Italian language, Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ...

vocal and the warm familiarity of the song."

Everett True Everett True (born Jeremy Andrew Thackray on 21 April 1961) is an English music journalist and musician. He became interested in rock music after hearing The Residents, and formed a band with school friends. He has written and recorded as The ...

from ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'' was negative, writing, "Insipid cover of Stylistics oldie. Breathy vocals and saccharine sentiments recall the worst of the Seventies. This is music

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

set out to destroy." A reviewer from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' gave the cover version four out of five, adding, "This smoothly-produced debut for The Artist's new label is a sleek and seamless cover of the Stylistics' seventies hit. A hit no doubt, but not one of his classics."

Charts

References

External links

* {{Phyllis Hyman 1970 songs 1972 singles Connie Stevens songs The Stylistics songs Songs written by Linda Creed Songs written by Thom Bell 1996 singles Prince (musician) songs Music videos directed by Prince (musician) NPG Records singles EMI Records singles Avco Records singles Phyllis Hyman songs Soul ballads 1970s ballads Song recordings produced by Thom Bell