Not Fade Away

BETTY WRIGHT

Miami soul powerhouse (1953-2020)

Betty Wright was born a star. She was recording with her family gospel group Echoes Of Joy at the age of three, signed a solo deal at 12 and scored her first significant hit, 1968’s “Girls Can’t Do What the Guys Do”, two years later. The success of the single, later sampled by Beyoncé on “Upgrade U”, led to an invitation from TV’s American Bandstand, only for Wright to be denied permission to take the day off school. Blessed with a powerful soul voice and octave-leaping range, by 1972, she’d established herself as one of America’s foremost R&B figures after the single “Clean Up Woman”, written by Clarence Reid and Willie Clarke, shifted over a million copies. She was still only 18.

Wright’s ability to reach whistle notes, the highest on the vocal register, was another facet of her work during the early ’70s, particularly on “The Babysitter” and “Let Me Be Your Lovemaker”. Her success in the UK, meanwhile, coincided with the advent of disco, when “Shoorah!.