About Tonight Is the Night

Born in Miami, Florida, as Bessie Regina Norris on December 21, 1953, Wright was the youngest of seven children of Rosa Akins Braddy-Wright and her second husband, McArthur Norris. Wright began her professional career at the age of two when her siblings formed the Echoes of Joy, a gospel group. Wright contributed to vocals on the group's first album, released in 1956. Wright and her siblings performed together until 1965, when she was 11 years old. Following the group's break-up, Wright, who was already using the name Betty Wright, decided to switch musical styles from gospel to rhythm and blues, singing in local talent shows until she was spotted by a Miami record label owner, who signed her to her first label (Deep City Records) in 1966, at 12. She released the singles "Thank You Baby" and "Paralyzed", which found Wright local fame in Miami. In 1967, the teen was responsible for discovering other local talents such as George and Gwen McCrae, helping them sign with the Alston Records label TK Records, part of Henry Stone's recording and distribution company. Her first album, My First Time Around, was released when she was age 14. Her first hit single was "Girls Can't Do What the Guys Do". In 1970, while still in high school, she released "Pure Love" at the age of 16.

In her nearly 50-year chart career, R&B legend Betty Wright stretched across generations with a soul, funk and disco catalog that made her one of the genre's most consistent hitmakers in the 1970s and early 1980s, and, in later years, as a frequently sampled presence in hits by Beyoncé, DJ Khaled and others. The singer-songwriter, born Bessie Norris, died at age 66 of cancer in Miami. Wright's Billboard chart career began on Aug. 3, 1968, as "Girls Can't Do What the Guys Do" debuted on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Rhythm and Blues Singles (today's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart). The single became Wright's first top 40 hit on both rankings, reaching No. 33 on the former and No. 15 on the latter. Younger listeners may know the tune more than they realize: Its opening drum and horn section was sampled in Beyoncé's "Upgrade U" (featuring Jay-Z), a No. 11 hit on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs in 2007.