Starting singing gospel with the family group, the Echoes of Joy, Wright began switching to R&B music in 1965 when she was only 11. In 1968, she released her first album, My First Time Around, at the age of 15, and scored her first hit, "Girls Can't Do What Guys Can Do".
It was not until the end of 1971 that Wright's most successful phase of her career took place. The song, "Clean Up Woman", became a Top 5 pop and R&B hit, and would later influence a remix of Mary J. Blige's "Real Love" single with the sample of its guitar riffs; R&B girl group trio SWV's "I'm So Into You" also featured a sample from "Clean Up Woman", as did Afrika Bambaataa's song "Zulu War Chant". In 1974, Wright scored big with the songs "Tonight is the Night" (about a real-life love affair that happened with Wright when she was a teenager) and "Where is the Love" (which won her a Grammy for Best R&B Song).
After experiencing a brief slump in the early 1980s, she rebounded founding her own record label, Ms. B Records, and in 1988 made music history by being the first woman to have a gold record on her own label, with the release of Mother Wit, which featured two of her biggest hits in years, "No Pain (No Gain)" and the "After The Pain". On both songs, Wright displays her powerful upper register capabilities and five-octave range. In 1989, Wright released 4u2njoy which features the hit songs "From Pain To Joy", "Quiet Storm" and "Keep Love New". Her subsequent albums Passion and Compassion, B-Attitudes and Fit For A King kept her fanbase satisfied.
By 2001, a compilation album, The Very Best of Betty Wright, was released. In 2007, Wright scored her most successful single in over a decade with "Baby", a duet with fellow Soul singer, Angie Stone. The song peaked at #22 on the R&B chart and #2 on the Hot Dance Club Songs chart.
Wright mentored several young singers, and did vocal production for the likes of Gloria Estefan, Jennifer Lopez and Joss Stone.
In December 2010, Wright was given another Grammy Award nomination for the song, "Go", for the Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance.
In January 2011, Wright released her first album in ten years, Betty Wright: The Movie, and was credited to Betty Wright & The Roots .
On May 10, 2020, Wright sadly passed away due to cancer at age 66.
Clean Up Woman
Betty Wright Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Gets all the love we girls leave behind
The reason I know so much about her
Is because she picked up a man of mine
Jumpin' slick was my ruin
'Cause I found out all I was doin'
Was makin' it easy for the clean up woman
Just makin' it easy for the clean up woman
To get my baby's love, huh huh
I took this man's love and put it on a shelf
And, like a fool, I thought I had him all to myself
When he needed love, I was out havin' fun
But I found out that all I had done
Was made it easy for the clean up woman
To get my man's love, huh huh
Yeah, that's what I did
I made it easy for the clean up woman
To steal my baby's love, aw, yeah
The clean up woman will wipe his blues away
She'll give him plenty lovin', twenty four hours a day
The clean up woman, she'll sweep him off his feet
She's the one who'll take him in when you dump him in the street
So take a tip, you better get hip
To the clean up woman, 'cause she's tough
I mean, she really cleans up
"Clean Up Woman" is a 1971 hit single by Betty Wright. The catchy tune is a story about a woman who finds out her man is cheating on her with the "clean up woman." The song describes a woman who is always there to clean up the mess after someone has been hurt by love. The clean up woman is described as someone who can help a man through rough times and be there for him when he needs her. The singer warns other women to be wary of this clean up woman because she can easily steal their man's heart.
The lyrics explain the situation from the perspective of the hurt woman. The woman is devastated when she realizes that her man has been cheating on her with the clean up woman. She acknowledges that the clean up woman is probably the one who can give him the love and support he needs. The hurt woman blames herself for making it easy for the clean up woman to take away her man. She warns other women to be careful of the clean up woman because she is tough and can easily take their man too.
Line by Line Meaning
A clean up woman is a woman who
A 'clean up woman' is a term for a woman who dates men after they have been left by their previous girlfriends.
Gets all the love we girls leave behind
These 'clean up women' will date the men who were previously not desirable to other women.
The reason I know so much about her
The singer knows a lot about 'clean up women' because one of them took her boyfriend.
Is because she picked up a man of mine
The 'clean up woman' took the singer's boyfriend for herself.
Jumpin' slick was my ruin
Being unfaithful and not prioritizing her boyfriend was a mistake for the singer.
'Cause I found out all I was doin'
The singer discovered that her actions were leading to the 'clean up woman' taking her boyfriend.
Was makin' it easy for the clean up woman
By neglecting her boyfriend's needs, the singer was making it easy for the 'clean up woman' to come in and take him.
To get my man's love, aww, yeah
The 'clean up woman' was able to convince the singer's boyfriend to leave her for her.
Just makin' it easy for the clean up woman
The singer realizes that her own actions were partly to blame for her boyfriend leaving her for the 'clean up woman.'
I took this man's love and put it on a shelf
The singer neglected her boyfriend and stopped showing him affection.
And, like a fool, I thought I had him all to myself
The singer believed that her boyfriend would never leave her for anyone else.
When he needed love, I was out havin' fun
The singer was not there for her boyfriend when he needed her affection and attention.
But I found out that all I had done
The singer realizes that her actions led to the loss of her boyfriend.
Was made it easy for the clean up woman
The singer blames herself for enabling the 'clean up woman' to take her boyfriend.
To get my man's love, huh huh
The 'clean up woman' was able to win over the singer's boyfriend with ease.
Yeah, that's what I did
The singer admits to her own fault in the matter.
I made it easy for the clean up woman
The singer facilitated the 'clean up woman's' ability to take her boyfriend.
To steal my baby's love, aw, yeah
The 'clean up woman' was able to take the singer's boyfriend away from her.
The clean up woman will wipe his blues away
The 'clean up woman' is able to make the man forget about his previous unhappiness and be happy with her.
She'll give him plenty lovin', twenty four hours a day
The 'clean up woman' will show the man all the love and attention he needs, whenever he wants it.
The clean up woman, she'll sweep him off his feet
The 'clean up woman' is able to make the man feel incredibly happy and emotionally swept off his feet.
She's the one who'll take him in when you dump him in the street
The 'clean up woman' will be there for the man even when his previous girlfriend has abandoned him.
So take a tip, you better get hip
The singer is warning other women to be aware of the 'clean up woman's' tactics.
To the clean up woman, 'cause she's tough
The singer emphasizes that the 'clean up woman' is a formidable opponent for any woman trying to keep her man.
I mean, she really cleans up
The 'clean up woman' is highly effective at taking men away from other women.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: CLARENCE HENRY REID, WILLIE JAMES CLARKE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind