(AllHipHop News) Betty Wright’s friends and family bid farewell to the soul singer at a three-hour funeral in Miami, Florida on Saturday.
The “No Pain, (No Gain)” and “Clean Up Woman” singer lost her battle with cancer at home on May 10th and was remembered in a lengthy service at the Bethel Apostolic Church – which also live-streamed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
In an obituary written by the family, Wright’s daughter Asher Williams-Timmons said: “We adored and cherished our mother; we realized early that she was a blessing to all.”
Celebrities including 2 Live Crew rapper Luther Campbell and Joss Stone were present for the service, where the British singer, who was mentored by Betty, a renowned vocal coach, sang Amazing Grace.
Remembering her friend, Stone said: “She was so giving, I always wondered, if someone gives that much can they run out?”
Gloria Estefan was out of town and unable to attend the funeral, but spoke to the Miami Herald newspaper about the late singer on Friday.
“Betty Wright was a force to be reckoned with. She wielded her soulful power in her own music but was incredibly generous when it came to coaxing the best performances out of every one of her students and the artists she worked with, one of which, was me,” she said.
Born Bessie Regina Norris in 1953, Wright kicked off her career with her family’s gospel group Echoes of Joy in the late 1960s. She released her debut album, My First Time Around, as a teenager and scored a U.S. Top 40 hit with Girls Can’t Do What the Guys Do. She first hit the top 10 in 1971 with Clean Up Woman.
She also had huge hits with Tonight is the Night and Where is the Love, which scored her a Grammy Award for Best R&B song in 1975.
Betty founded her own record label, Ms. B Records, and released the album Mother Wit in the 1980s, and she enjoyed a career revival in 2006 after Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs invited her to be part of his MTV reality show Making the Band.
Wright’s career hit another peak in 2011 when she teamed up with The Roots for the album Betty Wright: The Movie, which featured guest appearances by Lil Wayne and Snoop Dogg. More recently, she collaborated with DJ Khaled, Big Sean and Kendrick Lamar on Holy Key.
