Grammy Award -winning R&B songwriter and singer Betty Wright is dead at 66, Wright best known for the song 'Clean Up Woman,' though she had other hits too...Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog, both also top in Black digital news in the Midwest.
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Betty Wright AP PHOTO BY AARON DAVIDSON/GETTY IMAGES
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CLEVELANDURBANNEWS.COM, MIAMI, Florida- Legendary soul and R&B crooner Betty Wright, famous for such female liberating songs titled "Clean Up Woman," "No Pain, [No Gain]," and "Tonight is the Night," died Sunday in her native home town of Miami, Florida.
The Grammy Award winner was 66.
Her career spanned 5 decades.
Betty Wright was the powerful singer's stage name as her original name was Bessie Regina Norris.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
Steve Greenberg of S-Curve Records, who said Ms. Wright was found to have cancer in the fall, confirmed her death to reporters.
“She was an incredible writer, producer and mentor to young artists,” said Greenberg.
Also a songwriter, music producer and background vocalist, Wright had her first hit, "Clean Up Woman," when she was only 17.
It sold over 2 million copies and ranked 49th in 1972 on the Billboard charts, and was among songs on her second studio album, "I Love The Way You Love."
She later became a key player in the Miami funk sound of the 1970s.
Just two days before her death, fellow R&B singer Chaka Khan had made a plea on Twitter saying, "Calling all my #PrayWarriors.
Wright's first album, My First Time Around, was released when she was still aged 14. Her first hit single was "Girls Can't Do What the Guys Do".[4]
In 1970, while still in high school, she released "Pure Love" at the age of 16.
In 1988, Wright made history as the first Black female artist to score a gold album on her own label when her 1987 album, Mother Wit, achieved that certification.
Though nominated six times for a Grammy Award, Wright won her only Grammy in 1976 for composing "Where Is the Love."
Her third husband was Noel “King Sporty” Williams. They were married in 1985 and stayed married until his death in 2015.
Wright had five children.
A son, 21-year-old Patrick Parker, was fatally wounded after an altercation at a party in South Florida in 2005.
It broke her heart, sources said.
Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog, both also top in Black digital news in the Midwest.Tel: (216) 659-0473 and Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com.
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