There’s no mistaking the funky and soulful voice of Betty Wright, the earthy, powerful singer who gave the world the treasured 1971 gold record hit, “Clean Up Woman.”
The influential 1975 Grammy winner (“Where Is the Love”) with the rhythmic eyes, infectious smile, and sassy delivery became a key player in the Miami funk sound of the 70s, and to this day is still considered one of most significant women of R&B.
Born Bessie Regina Norris in Miami in 1953, Wright carved out a musical path for herself at an early age. The youngest of seven children, Wright’s mother taught her to sing gospel at three-years-old, making her a child-singing prodigy whose talent secured her a record deal at the age of 12.
The training proved to be Wright’s entrée into secular music where she excelled quickly, impressing the legendary James Brown who wanted to hire the young sensation but was told by Wright’s mother that her children “only sing gospel music.” Undeterred, Wright pressed on and in 1968, had a hit with “Girls Can’t Do What the Guys Can Do,” reaching No. 33 on the Billboard Hot 100. She then delivered the 1974 hit, “Tonight Is The Night.”
Progressive in her thinking, in the early 1980s Wright launched her own label, Ms. B Records, wrote and produced a comeback hit, “No Pain, No Gain” and became the first woman to have a gold album on her own label. Wright was also one of the first pop vocalists to sing in the stratospheric “whistle register,” a technique also used by Minnie Riperton, Mariah Carey, and Ariana Grande.
For five decades, Wright, who mentored singers and rappers, calling them “her babies,” was also a songwriter, arranger, and producer, whose list of credits includes Stevie Wonder, Bob Marley, Michael Jackson, Stephen Stills, David Byrne, Alice Cooper, Jennifer Lopez, Gloria Estefan, Miami Sound Machine and Erykah Badu, among others.
Wright was married three times, including to reggae musician King Sporty. Betty Wright died on May 10, 2020. Legends are defined by their work and how it impacts the culture. We remember Betty Wright so others don’t forget. #livinglegendsfoundation30 #blackmusicmonth #culturecreator #rootedinblackmusic