Alex Henderson

Betty Wright
Wright  Back at You

The 1970s, on the whole, were very good times for Betty Wright. Born Bessie Regina Norris in Miami on December 21, 1953, Wright enjoyed some commercial success during the 1960s—her breakthrough hit, “Girls Can’t Do What the Guys Do,” reached #15 on Billboard’s R&B singles chart in the United States in 1968—but it was during the 1970s that Wright truly blossomed as a recording artist both creatively and commercially.

The Floridian wasn’t quite old enough to vote when, at 17, she recorded her 1971 single, “Clean Up Woman”—which took her career to another level. “Clean Up Woman” was a smash hit, soaring to #2 on Billboard’s R&B singles chart in the U.S. as well as #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and ultimately selling more than one million copies. And “Clean Up Woman” was followed by a string of hits that included “Babysitter” in 1972, “Let Me Be Your Lovemaker” and “It’s Hard to Stop (Doing Something When It's Good to You)” in 1973, “Secretary” in 1974 and “Tonight Is the Night” and “Shoorah! Shoorah!” in 1975.

Wright spent most of the 1970s at TK Records, a Hialeah, Florida-based independent label remembered for KC & the Sunshine Band, George and Gwen McCrae, Peter Brown, Foxy, T-Connection and other soul/disco stars. TK and its various subsidiaries gave us definitive Disco Era favorites such as “Get Down Tonight” and “Shake Your Booty” from KC & the Sunshine Band, “Get Off” from Foxy and “Rock Your Baby” from George McCrae. And while Wright herself wasn’t as disco-minded as her labelmates, she co-wrote her 1975 hit “Where Is the Love” (not to be confused with Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway’s 1972 gem) with Harry “KC” Casey and Richard Finch of KC & the Sunshine Band. Plus, Wright provided background vocals on Brown’s 1978 single “Dance With Me,” which became a #5 R&B/#8 pop smash in Billboard in the U.S.

From 1972-1979, Wright was signed to the TK subsidiary Alston Records—and she recorded some of her best work at Alston/TK. But by the end of the 1970s, TK was running into financial problems. Wright needed to move on, and in 1981, she reemerged on Epic/CBS Records (now Epic Records/Sony Music) with a self-titled album and her minor hit “What Are You Going to Do With It”—an infectious gem written and produced by Stevie Wonder. Wright recorded two albums for Epic in the early 1980s: 1981’s Betty Wright and 1983’s Wright Back at You.

Mostly produced by Marlon Jackson—who sang with his famous brothers Michael, Jermaine, Tito and Randy in the Jackson 5, later the Jacksons—Wright Back at You didn’t include any blockbusters like “Clean Up Woman” or “Babysitter” but is a respectable, solid effort designed to appeal to 1983 tastes. The album’s biggest hit was “She’s Older Now,” a moody and understated reggae-pop offering that reached #22 on Billboard’s R&B singles chart in the U.S.

Under Marlon Jackson’s direction, Wright goes for diversity on Wright Back at You—and the Miami native sings as convincingly on uptempo dance grooves such as “Burning Desire,” “Be Your Friend” and “Live, Love, Rejoice” as she does on the quiet storm ballad “I Promise You” (a vocal duet with Marlon Jackson) and the funky mid-tempo item “Gimme Just Another Try.” The only track that Jackson didn’t produce is “Reggae the Night Away,” which was produced by Chris Kimsey instead.

One of the interesting things about Wright Back at You is how often she is influenced by reggae. Wright employs a reggae beat not only on “She’s Older Now” and “Reggae the Night Away,” but also, on “Special Love”—a song that was written by four of the Jackson brothers (Jackie, Michael, Randy and Tito) and previously recorded by their sister La Toya Jackson in 1981 on her album My Special Love. None of those songs are hardcore roots reggae in the classic Burning Spear/Peter Tosh/Mighty Diamonds sense, but they are enjoyable examples of crossover reggae-pop coming from a well-known R&B star.

Wright does a fair amount of writing herself on Wright Back at You: the singer, who was 29 when this album came out, co-wrote “She’s Older Now” and “Be Your Friend” as well as “Reggae the Night Away,” “Gimme Just Another Try” and the Chaka Khan-ish “Show Me.”

The single “Burning Desire,” written by Marlon and Tito Jackson, is a prime example of exuberant dance music with a rock edge. In 1983, there were many great examples of artists merging dance music and pop-rock—Michael Sembello’s “Maniac,” the Pointer Sisters’ “I’m So Excited,” Shalamar’s “Dead Giveaway” and Irene Cara’s “Breakdance” were among the 1983 gems that successfully fused the energy of dance music with the energy of pop-rock. And “Burning Desire” also brings the two together with addictive results.

When Epic Records initially released Wright Back at You 33 years ago, it was a nine-song vinyl LP (in 1983, LPs still reigned supreme in the music industry—although by 1988 and 1989, CDs were taking over in a big way). But Funkytown Grooves’ 2016 expanded edition of Wright Back at You is a 13-track CD with four bonus tracks: the 7” and 12” single versions of “Burning Desire,” and the 7” single versions of “She’s Older Now” and “Special Love.”

After Wright Back at You, Wright parted company with Epic Records. But that was by no means the end of her recording career. Wright formed her own label, Miss B Records, in 1985—and in 1988, she had a #14 R&B hit in Billboard in the U.S. with “No Pain, No Gain.”

Unlike many R&B stars who were popular in the 1970s, Wright has not disappeared from the recording scene in the 21^st Century. Wright, now 62, is still recording. And the 2000s and 2010s have found her working with younger artists such as Kelly Clarkson, Keyshia Cole, Lil Wayne and British star Joss Stone. In 2011, Wright and Philadelphia-based alternative rappers the Roots joined forces for the neo-soul album Betty Wright: The Movie.   

In 1983, Wright was not afraid to try different things. And that willingness to experiment served her well on Wright Back at You.

—Alex Henderson, August 2016

Alex Henderson’s work has appeared in Billboard, Spin, Salon.com, Creem, The L.A. Weekly, AlterNet, JazzTimes, Jazziz, The Raw Story, Cash Box, HITS, CD Review, Skin Two, Black Beat, The Pasadena Weekly, Black Radio Exclusive (BRE), Music Connection, The New York City Jazz Record and many other well-known publications. Henderson (alexvhenderson.com) also contributed several thousand CD reviews to the popular Allmusic.com website and The All Music Guide’s series of music reference books.