Topic: Betty Wright

Betty Wright (born December 21, 1953)) (not to be mistaken for the late wife of famed gospel singer, the late Rev. Timothy Wright) is a Miami-based soul and R&B singer, who influenced a generation of female singer-songwriters and has also influenced the world of hip hop, which has sampled some of her more famous material.

From singing gospel with the family group, the Echoes of Joy, Wright began switching to R&B music in 1965 when she was only eleven years old. In 1967, she discovered singers George and Gwen McCrae, and helped them sign to Henry Stone's Alston record label. In 1968, she released her first album, My First Time Around, at the age of 15, and scored her first hit single, "Girls Can't Do What Guys Can Do". on Alston, part of Stone's TK studio and record company in Florida. But it was not until the end of 1971 that the most successful phase of her career took place.

The song, "Clean Up Woman", became a major pop and R&B hit, remaining at #2 for eight weeks on the R&B chart and reaching #6 on the pop listing. "Clean Up Woman" was written by Steve Alaimo and stayed for 14 weeks in the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It sold over a million copies with the R.I.A.A. gold disc award on 30 December 1971. and would later influence a remix of Mary J. Blige's "Real Love" single with the sample of its guitar riffs; R&B girl 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. Beyoncé has sampled "Girls Can't Do What The Guys Do" for her hit "Upgrade U".