Rhythm and Blues Singer. She was a Grammy Award-winning artist who rose to fame in the 1970s with hits such as 'Clean Up Woman' and 'Tonight Is the Night.' Born Bessie Regina Norris, she started her music career singing with Echoes of Joy, her family's gospel group in Miami. In 1968, while still a teen, she released her debut album, 'My First Time Around,' which yielded a top 40 song on the Billboard Hot 100 with 'Girls Can't Do What the Guys Do.' In 1972, she scored a top 10 single with 'Clean Up Woman,' which peaked at No. 6 on the Hot 100. In the mid-'70s, Wright had scored big with songs 'Tonight Is the Night' and 'Where Is the Love,' which earned her a Grammy for for best R&B song in 1975. In the 1980s, Wright founded her own record label, Ms. B Records, and released the album 'Mother Wit,' featuring 'No Pain (No Gain),' which became a hit, making Wright the first woman to have a record on her own label achieve gold status. Over the course of her career, she would release nearly two dozen studio albums, among them 'I Love The Way You Love' (1972), 'Explosion!' (1976), 'Travelin' In The Wright Circle' (1979), 'Wright Back At You' (1983), '4u2njoy' (1989), 'Passion & ComPassion' (1990), 'B-Attitudes' (1994), 'Fit for A King' (2001) and 'Living...Love...Lies' (2014), receiving 6 Grammy nominations along the way. Wright, whose songs have been sampled and recored by several artists, including Beyoncé, 2Pac and Chance the Rapper, died from complications of endometrial cancer.
Rhythm and Blues Singer. She was a Grammy Award-winning artist who rose to fame in the 1970s with hits such as 'Clean Up Woman' and 'Tonight Is the Night.' Born Bessie Regina Norris, she started her music career singing with Echoes of Joy, her family's gospel group in Miami. In 1968, while still a teen, she released her debut album, 'My First Time Around,' which yielded a top 40 song on the Billboard Hot 100 with 'Girls Can't Do What the Guys Do.' In 1972, she scored a top 10 single with 'Clean Up Woman,' which peaked at No. 6 on the Hot 100. In the mid-'70s, Wright had scored big with songs 'Tonight Is the Night' and 'Where Is the Love,' which earned her a Grammy for for best R&B song in 1975. In the 1980s, Wright founded her own record label, Ms. B Records, and released the album 'Mother Wit,' featuring 'No Pain (No Gain),' which became a hit, making Wright the first woman to have a record on her own label achieve gold status. Over the course of her career, she would release nearly two dozen studio albums, among them 'I Love The Way You Love' (1972), 'Explosion!' (1976), 'Travelin' In The Wright Circle' (1979), 'Wright Back At You' (1983), '4u2njoy' (1989), 'Passion & ComPassion' (1990), 'B-Attitudes' (1994), 'Fit for A King' (2001) and 'Living...Love...Lies' (2014), receiving 6 Grammy nominations along the way. Wright, whose songs have been sampled and recored by several artists, including Beyoncé, 2Pac and Chance the Rapper, died from complications of endometrial cancer.
Bio by: Louis du Mort
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