Betty Wright

Betty Wright (Dec. 21, 1953 – May 10, 2020) was an American soul singer from Miami. She cut her debut album, My First Time Around, at age 14 in 1968. Her 1972 Alston release I Love the Way You Love spawned the Billboard Top 10 hit “Clean Up Woman.”

She issued six further Alston albums during the 1970s, including her 1977 release This Time for Real. Her track “Shoorah! Shoorah!”, from her 1974 album Danger High Voltage, was later covered by ex-Deaf School vocalist Bette Bright. Wright released further albums on Epic and Ms.B Records during the 1980s.

Wright was born Bessie Regina Norris on December 21, 1953, in Miami, the youngest of seven children. When she was two, the siblings formed the Echoes of Joy gospel group. As a toddler, she sang on their first album, released in 1956. The group performed until 1965, when she was eleven. By then, she identified as Betty Wright.

In 1966, 12-year-old Wright got discovered while singing in local talent shows. She cut her first two singles in 1967: “Good Lovin'” (b/w “Paralyzed”) and “Mr. Lucky” (b/w “Thank You Baby”), respectively issued on Deep City Records and Solid Soul. In 1968, she signed to Alston, a division of Atlantic-subsidiary ATCO. Her subsequent singles appeared on Alston while her debut album, My First Time Around, appeared that year on ATCO.

Discography:

• 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)
• Live (1978)
• Betty Travelin’ in the Wright Circle (1979)
• Betty Wright (1981)
• Back at You (1983)
• Sevens (1986)
• Mother Wit (1988)
• 4u2njoy (1989)
• Passion and Compassion (1990)
• Betty Wright: The Movie (2011 • Betty Wright & The Roots)

Sources:

• Discogs: Betty Wright