#Betty Wright #R&B #soul #Southern soul #funk pop #1970s
Betty Wright was a soul and R&B singer with deep gospel roots. She influenced a generation of female singer-songwriters and the world of hip hop, who sample some of her more famous material. Born singing gospel with the family group, the Echoes of Joy, Wright began experimenting with R&B music in 1965 when she was only 11. In 1968, she released her first album, My First Time Around, at the age of 14, and scored her first national hit, "Girls Can't Do What Guys Can Do". But it was not until the end of 1971 that Wright's most successful phase of her career began to take place. The song, "Clean Up Woman", became a Top 5 pop and #2 R&B hit, and would later influence a remix of Mary J. Blige's "Real Love" single with the sample of its guitar riffs; R&B girl group 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. In 1974, Wright scored big with the songs "Tonight is the Night" (about a real-life love affair that happened with Wright when she was a teenager) and "Where is the Love". After experiencing the Alston label’s apparent dissolution in late '79, she rebounded founding her own record label, Ms. B Records in 1985. In 1988, Wright made music history by being the first woman to have a gold record on her own label, (self written, arranged, produced, and published). With the release of Mother Wit, which featured two of her biggest hits in years, "No Pain No Gain" and "After The Pain." On both songs, Wright displays her powerful upper register capabilities and seven-octave range. From: https://www.umusicpub.com/us/Artists/B/Betty-Wright.aspx
