Betty Davis Passed Away!

R&B legendary Betty Wright passed away.

Legendary soul and R&B singer Betty Wright, known for the singles "Tonight is the Night," "No Pain (No Gain)" and "Clean Up Woman" has passed away at the age of 66.

Wright died from cancer in Miami, Billboard has confirmed.

In early May, R&B legendy Chaka Khan wrote on social media that Wright was "now in need of all your prays. Calling all my #PrayWarriors."

The singer added, "My beloved sister, Betty Wright @MsBettyWright, is now in need of all your prayers."

Born Bessie Regina Morris in 1953, Wright started her music career singing with Echoes of Joy, her family's gospel group in Miami. In 1968, at age 15, she released her debut album, "My First Time Around," giving her a top 40 song on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Girls Can't Do What the Guys Do."

Wright earned a top 10 single in 1972 with "Clean Up Woman," which peaked at No. 6 on the Hot 100, and would go on to be sampled by numerous talents. Mary J. Blige, Afrika Bambaataa and Sublime to name a few.

She won a Grammy for the best R&B song in 1975 for "Where is the Love."

Listen to her compilation album here.



In the 1980s, Wright founded her own record label, Ms. B Records, and released the album Mother Wit, featuring the popular song "No Pain (No Gain)."

In 2003, she co-produced Joss Stone's The Soul Sessions, a collection of classic R&B songs from the 1960s and 1970s.  The album, released on S-Curve Records, was shortlisted for England's Mercury Prize.

Wright was introduced to a younger generation of fans in 2006 after being appointed a vocal coach by Sean “P Diddy” Combs on his television show Making the Band.

Her family confirmed she passed away from cancer.

In 2011, she teamed up with The Roots for the collaborative album, Betty Wright: The Movie, which featured guest appearances by Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg and Stone.

"Betty Wright was one of the foundations of S-Curve's creative family," S-Curve Records founder/president Steve Greenberg tells Billboard. "She and I worked together on so many projects, ranging from Joss Stone to Tom Jones to the O’Jays, to her own album, Betty Wright & the Roots. She was a triple threat as an artist, writer and producer and she always got something extra special out of the singers she was producing. Her mere presence brought a studio to life and she had the gift of making everyone feel confident in their ability to create something magical."

She leaves behind four children, Chaka Azuri, Asha Wright, Patrice Parker, Patrick Parker and Aisha McCray.

A legendary voice of R&B.

One of the Queens of R&B.