Betty Wright

Betty Wright (born December 21, 1953) is a Grammy winning Miami-based soul and R&B singer who influenced a generation of female singer-songwriters and the world of hip hop, which has sampled some of her material. She should not be confused with the wife of gospel singer Rev. Timothy Wright who was also called Betty Wright.

From singing gospel with the family group, the Echoes of Joy, Wright began a switch to R&B music in 1965 when she was eleven years old. In 1967, she discovered singers George and Gwen McCrae, and helped them sign to Henry Stone’s Alston record label. In 1968, she released her first album, My First Time Around, at the age of 15, and scored her first hit single, «Girls Can’t Do What Guys Can Do» on the Alston label, part of Henry Stone’s TK studio and record company in Florida. But it was not until the end of 1971 that the most successful phase of her career began.

The song «Clean Up Woman» became a major pop and R&B hit, remaining at #2 for eight weeks on the R&B chart and reaching #6 on the pop listing. «Clean Up Woman» was written by Steve Alaimo and stayed for 14 weeks in the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It sold over a million copies with the R.I.A.A. gold disc award on 30 December 1971. and would later influence a remix of Mary J. Blige’s «Real Love» single with the sample of its guitar riffs; R&B girl trio SWV’s «I’m So Into You» also featured a sample from «Clean Up Woman,» as did Afrika Bambaataa’s song «Zulu War Chant», and Sublime’s «Get Out!» remix. Beyoncé has sampled «Girls Can’t Do What The Guys Do» for her hit «Upgrade U».

In 1978, Wright scored with a re-worked live version of a song she had written with producer Willie Clarke, «Tonight is the Night» (about a real-life love affair that happened when Wright was a teenager). The original version had done reasonably well three years earlier but the new, much longer version climbed to #11 on the R&B charts. This was later sampled by both Candyman for his one-hit wonder «Knockin’ Boots» and Sheek Louch’s single, «Good Love.» Another single, «Where is the Love» which was written and produced by Harry Wayne Casey (KC & The Sunshine Band), Richard Finch, Willie Clarke, and Betty Wright. The song won her a Grammy for Best R&B Song in 1975.

In 1978, Wright sang a duet called «No Tricks» with Alice Cooper. In late 1979, she appeared as the opening act for several Survival Tour concerts by Bob Marley.

After experiencing a brief slump in the early 1980s, she rebounded to set up her own record label called Ms. B Records, and in 1988 she made music history by being the first woman to have a gold record on her own label, with the release of Mother Wit. The album featured two of her biggest hits in several years, «No Pain No Gain» and «After The Pain.» On both songs, Wright displayed her upper register capabilities and her ability to sing in the seventh octave. Wright also charted in a 1990 duet with Grayson Hugh on a remake of the 1981 Champaign hit «How ‘Bout Us», and sang on fellow Miami vocalist Gloria Estefan’s 1991 chart-topper «Coming Out of the Dark.»

When the R&B group Color Me Badd released their hit, «I Wanna Sex You Up», in 1991, it generated controversy because the sample from «Tonight is the Night» had not been cleared; Wright took the band to court for royalties and was awarded 35 percent of royalties for writing the song. DJ Quik used a sample of «Tonight is The Night» on his first single » Tonite».

Her cover of the song, «Shoorah! Shoorah!», which she recorded in 1974, was used in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy movie. The song, which was written by Allen Toussaint and first recorded by Frankie Miller, also appears on the soundtrack to the second series of the UK Channel 4 comedy drama, No Angels.

In 2001, a compilation album, The Very Best of Betty Wright, was released, along with her first studio album for several years, Fit for a King. In 2002, the underground Hip-Hop artist RJD2 used a sample from Wright’s song «Secretary» in his most commercially successful track, «Ghostwriter». «Ghostwriter» has since gone on to be used in multiple advertisements and commercials.

In 2006, Wright appeared on the TV show Making the Band as a vocal coach, appointed by Sean Combs, for new female group Danity Kane. She now mentors several young singers and has done vocal production for such artists as Gloria Estefan, Jennifer Lopez and Joss Stone.

Albums

* My First Time Around (1968)
* I Love the Way You Love (1972)
* Hard to Stop (1973)
* Danger High Voltage (1974)
* …Explosion!… (1976)
* This Time for Real (1977)
* Betty Wright Live (1978), (TK-Records 4408)
* Betty Travelin’ in the Wright Circle (1979)
* Betty Wright (1981)
* Wright Back at You (1983)
* Sevens (1986)
* Mother Wit (1988)
* 4u2njoy (1989)
* Passion and Compassion (1990)
* B-Attitudes (1994)
* Pain (1998)
* Fit for a King (2001)