Singer Betty Wright dies at 66

By Syed Sajid Aziz in USA
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Betty Wright, the singer-songwriter and producer best known for her 1971 soul-disco classic ‘Clean Up Woman’ died on May 10 at her home in Miami of cancer, the New York Times reported. She was 66.

Besides becoming a key player in the Miami funk sound of the ‘70s, she had remained a mainstay on the Billboard R&B chart as a lead singer, duet partner and background vocalist, placing 20 different singles in the R&B Top 40. 

She was on the R&B and dance charts until 2007 with ‘Baby’ which was a duet with the contemporary soul singer Angie Stone. She also featured in the R&B classics ‘Let Me Be Your Lovemaker’, ‘Shoorah Shoorah’, and ‘Tonight Is the Night.’ 

An early starter, she was barely 17 when her most famous hit ‘Clean Up Woman’ was released in 1971. The song reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, sold more than a million copies and came in as the No. 49 song of 1972, according to Billboard. 

Her illustrious career spanned nearly half a century with late ‘70s and early ‘80s being the most successful period. She was known to be an inspiration to many contemporary singers like Mary J Blige and Joss Stone.