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Betty is a common diminutive for the names Elizabeth and Bethany.

Actresses and musicians[link]

• Betty (band), American alternative rock band
• Betty Boo, English dance-music artist, singer, and songwriter
• Betty Buckley, American theater, film, and television actress
• Betty Deland, Swedish actress
• Betty Driver, British singer and actress
• Betty Grable, American actress, singer, dancer, and pin-up girl whose sensational bathing-suit photo became the number one pinup of the World War II era
• Betty Harris, American soul singer
• Betty Hutton, American actress and singer
• Betty Kennedy, Canadian author and senator
• Betty Moschona, Greek actress
• Bettie Page, American pin-up, and early fetish model of the 1950s.
• Betty White, American television actress best known for her roles in the sitcoms The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Golden Girls

Other people[link]

• Betty Ford, former First Lady of the United States, wife of Gerald Ford
• Betty Friedan, American feminist and author of The Feminine Mystique
• Betty Linderoth, Swedish clockmaker
• Betty Shabazz, American educator and civil rights advocate, wife of Malcolm X
• Betty Stöve, Dutch tennis player

Fictional characters[link]

• Betty (Naked Brothers Band), a character from the TV series, The Naked Brothers Band
• Atomic Betty or 'Betty Barrett', Cartoon Network-Teletoon's first child superhero

• Betty Blue, the main character of the film Betty Blue by Jean-Jacques Beineix, played by Béatrice Dalle
• Betty Boop, a Paramount Pictures cartoon character
• Betty Cooper, a character of Archie Comics
• Betty Crocker, a brand name
• Betty Draper, a character of AMC's TV Series Mad Men
• Betty Eagleton, a character from the British soap opera, Emmerdale'
• Betty Kane, now known as Bette Kane
• Betty La Fea or Ugly Betty, a fictional character created in a Colombian soap opera with tremendous international success and which was the origin for the US version Ugly Betty
• Betty Rizzo, the character played by Stockard Channing in the 1978 film Grease
• Betty Ross, a character from the Hulk comics: Bruce Banner's love interest
• Betty Rubble, Flintstones character
• Betty Slug, the lead character in the Canadian comic strip, "Betty"
• Betty Spaghetty, a bendable rubber doll
• Betty Spencer, wife of Frank Spencer in the British sitcom Some Mothers do 'ave 'em, played by Michele Dotrice
• Betty Suarez, the title character and heroine of the ABC series Ugly Betty
• Betty Williams, a character from the British soap opera, Coronation Street'

• Brickhouse Betty, a character from the animated cartoon series of the same name featured on Playboy TV and the Web

See also[link]

• Betti

This page or section lists people that share the same given name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.

Brooke Fraser
Background information
Birth name	Brooke Gabrielle Fraser
Born	(1983-12-15) 15 December 1983 (age 28) Wellington, New Zealand
Origin	Wellington, New Zealand
Genres	Pop, folk rock
Years active	2002–present
Labels	Sony Music, Wood + Bone
Associated acts	Hillsong
Website	www.brookefraser.com

Brooke Gabrielle Fraser Ligertwood, better known as Brooke Fraser (born 15 December 1983) is a New Zealand born award-winning folk-pop and Christian music^[1][2] artist. Her third studio album Flags has become the most successful album of her career, with the single "Something in the Water" reaching number one on the RIANZ singles chart in 2010.

Early life[link]

Fraser is the eldest of the three children born to former All Black Bernie Fraser,^[3] who was born in Lautoka, Fiji, and his wife Lynda Fraser.^[4] She grew up in Naenae, Lower Hutt and attended Dyer Street School, Naenae Intermediate School and Naenae College.^[5]

Fraser took piano lessons between the ages of seven and seventeen. She started writing songs at age twelve and taught herself the acoustic guitar at fifteen. Despite her skills as a singer she has never taken singing lessons.^[5]

She performed at Parachute, an annual New Zealand music festival in 2000 – including a special guest performance in 2007.^[5]

She began writing for the Soul Purpose magazine at age fifteen, and was later made editor in 2002. She gave up her job as editor shortly after moving to Auckland in late 2002 in order to pursue her music career.^[6]

Musical career[link]

In 2002, while Fraser was in Auckland, Scotty Pearson, the drummer for Elemeno P, organised a meeting with producer Matty J for her. Matty J became her manager, liaising with the major labels who had shown interest and compared their offers. Fraser had about five different labels offer her deals and chose to sign a multi-album deal with Sony Music at the age of 17.^[7]

[edit] What to Do With Daylight

Fraser's first album, What to Do with Daylight, was released in New Zealand in late 2003, debuting at number one and achieved gold status in the same week. The album eventually went seven times platinum,^[8] selling over 105,000 copies in New Zealand alone.^[9] It remained on the album charts for sixty-six weeks.^[10] All five singles from the album reached the top twenty in the New Zealand Singles Chart.^[11] Her album also topped the New Zealand Top 50 Albums of 2004.^[12]

Following the release of What to Do with Daylight, Fraser toured Australia and New Zealand with American artist John Mayer and then toured New Zealand with veteran U.K. rock artist David Bowie.^[13][14] Whilst on tour with John Mayer, she met with his guitarist and keyboardist Michael Chaves who, after recording Mayer's album Heavier Things, Fraser enlisted to play on her album and future concerts.^[15]

[edit] Albertine

In 2005, prior to writing and preparing her follow-up album, Fraser took a trip to Africa to immerse herself in Rwanda before visiting her sponsor children in Tanzania, as she is an advocate for child sponsorship. In this trip, she was so moved that she wrote the song Albertine about a young child (named Albertine), whom she met while in Rwanda. It was later decided to make this song the album's title track.^[16]

Fraser performing in Seattle, 8 December 2010

For the second album, Fraser decided to enlist a new band, primarily constructed from American musicians who'd worked with an array of notable artists, both live and recorded.^[17] In 2006, Fraser and the band went into the studio in Los Angeles to record the album. Later Fraser allowed her fans to listen to the album's first single Deciphering Me via her MySpace page. The single was later released initially to radio and ultimately to CD single, and achieved number four in the New Zealand single charts.

On 4 December 2006 Albertine was released in New Zealand, achieving double platinum status less than a month after its release and has remained, to date, in the top 20 every week since. The album was released in Australia and internationally on 31 March 2007. In Australia, it charted at number twenty-nine in its first week on 9 April and has thus far achieved Gold sales status.

On 6 April 2007, Fraser performed "Deciphering Me" for the Good Friday Appeal, an annual televised fundraising event to raise money for the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne.

In 2008, Fraser appeared on the Dave Barnes song "Believe" from his album Me + You + the World, performing backing vocals.

Albertine was also Fraser's U.S. debut, released 27 May 2008 and entered the Billboard 200 at number ninety on 19 July 2008. Her album propelled in success with online sales after being chosen as Editor's Choice on iTunes. On 4 July 2008 Fraser supported Canadian artist/U2 collaborator Daniel Lanois at the Montreal Jazz Festival. In August she toured the southern U.S.^[18] In September, she re-toured several major U.S. cities and completed the tour at the Shepherd's Bush Empire in London, UK.

[edit] Flags

Flags was recorded at East West Studios in Hollywood in the summer of 2010 ^[19] and released by Wood & Bone Records on 12 October 2010. Fraser celebrated with sold-out tours in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand. Flags reached the #1 spot on the New Zealand album chart,^[20] #3 in Australia,^[21] and entered at #59 on the Billboard 200 in the US,^[22] and climbed as high as #3 on the U.S iTunes album chart. "Flags" has been certified Gold in Australia and 3x Platinum in New Zealand where it was the 6th highest selling album of 2010.^[23] The first single, “Something in the Water,” has achieved extensive radio success across the globe, notably receiving BBC Radio 2 A-list rotation upon release.^[24] The single has gone on to achieve double platinum sales in NZ where it spent 21 weeks in the 2010 singles chart.^[25] The single has reached #2 in the Dutch airplay chart whilst residing in the top 5 singles chart for 6 consecutive weeks.^[26] The single has charted in Poland and Belgium at #15 and #23 respectively,^[27] as well as being certified Gold in both Germany and Italy.^[28] Flags was released in July 2011 in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and debuted in the following positions: #6 in Germany, #33 in Austria & #24 in Switzerland. One month on from release, "Flags" remained in the German top 20 at #13 and "Something in the Water" on the singles charts at #8. "Flags" was released in October 2011 in Hungary, reaching #15 on the national album chart by 2nd week of release.^[29] Flags is due to be released in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland on 7 November 2011.^[27] Flags has received accolades from peers and press alike. Sara Bareilles announced to her 2 million followers on Twitter "If you don’t know her, you should. @brookefraser is a freakin gem. New album out now. Yay." and Women’s Wear Daily has called Brooke "The Kiwi Norah Jones."^[30][31]

In its review of Flags, Glide Magazine said: "Brooke Fraser’s third release, Flags, is a wonder. From the stunning lyrical imagery throughout to the impressive guest vocalists who join her (Cary Brothers, Jon Foreman and Aqualung among them), from Fraser’s ethereal and breathy performances to the wide-ranging soundscapes, this record is drenched in beauty and stands as one of the more remarkable achievements of 2010."^[32]

In support of "Flags" release in Switzerland, Brooke will be appearing in November 2011 at the “ENERGY STARS FOR FREE” event in Zurich alongside Lenny Kravitz and Snow Patrol.^[33]

Personal life[link]

After the success of her first album, Fraser moved to Sydney, where she has lived since 2004. On 17 March 2008 she married Scott Ligertwood, in Sydney, changing her name to Brooke Ligertwood.^[34] "Brooke Fraser" has remained her stage name for her activity as a Sony BMG recording/touring artist. She continues to write songs for Hillsong Church, now as "Brooke Ligertwood". Among her notable congregational songs are "Desert Song" and "Hosanna". After touring her second album Albertine for almost 4 years, Fraser returned home to Sydney. She took almost a year off from music-making. After attending the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in the US and seeing Fleet Foxes ^[35] set she was inspired to work on her latest album Flags.^[36]

Fraser also runs a blog from her website where she comments on everything from touring, to fashion and food.^[37]

Philanthropy[link]

Fraser has enjoyed success in her career for many years, and she has always used her position to highlight many worthy causes and charity projects, and raising large amounts of money for them in the process. In late 2010 whilst on tour in the U.S. promoting her third album Flags, Fraser, in conjunction with charity: water ran a birthday campaign asking her fans to donate $27 in honor of her 27th birthday. The goal was to raise $50,000 to build clean water wells in Ethiopia.^[38] Joining the likes of Justin Bieber,^[39] Will Smith^[40] and Adam Lambert^[41] Fraser's birthday campaign was a success raising over $54,000. She has vowed to continue her work with charity: water on future projects.

Fraser has worked with World Vision as an Artist Associate since 2001. She has visited Cambodia and Tanzania with World Vision, the Philippines with Opportunity International and independently traveled to Rwanda in June 2005, in June 2006 as part of charity event "Hope Rwanda", and in May 2007 when she filmed the music video for the song "Albertine" off her second studio album of the same name. In 2006 she, along with Petra Bagust and Tau from Spacifix, appeared in an advertisement for the World Vision 40 Hour Famine; an event which raises funds for children in third world countries. She also sponsors eleven children through World Vision^[42] and makes child ways of contributing to the work of World Vision (i.e. fundraising t-shirts etc.).

Discography[link]

Studio albums

• What to Do with Daylight (2003)
• Albertine (2006)
• Flags (2010)

Awards and nominations[link]

APRA Awards

New Zealand Music Awards

GMA Dove Awards

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Brooke Fraser

• Official Brooke Fraser website
• Brooke Fraser at Allmusic
• Brooke Fraser on Myspace
• New Zealand Herald article

Shirley Brown (born January 6, 1947, West Memphis, Arkansas) is an American soul singer, best known for her million-selling single "Woman to Woman" which was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1975.

Woman to Woman[link]

Brown was born in West Memphis, but was raised in Madison, Illinois, where she started singing in church when she was nine years old. Early experience singing gospel gave her a powerful but expressive voice likened to Aretha Franklin.^[1] Albert King discovered her at age 14, singing in the Harlem Club in Brooklyn, Illinois. Young Shirley went on the road with King for nine years. While King made sure she had a tutor, Brown often cut her classes to work with the band.^[1][2][3]

By 1972, Shirley was living in East St. Louis, Illinois, where she made her first record for the Abet label called, "I Ain't Gonna Tell" and "Love Built on a Strong Foundation".^[3][4] Bandleader Oliver Sain produced the record; Sain worked with King on his first hit record ten years earlier.^[1] By 1974, King recommended Brown to Stax Records in Memphis, Tennessee, where he had been one of the label's stars for some time.^[1]

Her 1974 hit, "Woman to Woman" spent two weeks at #1 in the Billboard R&B chart^[5] and climbed to #22 in the Billboard Hot 100. It sold over one million copies by December 1974, and was awarded a gold disc.^[6] It was to prove to be Stax's final major hit record,^[5] (the song was later covered by Barbara Mandrell in 1978 and became a top-five country hit).

A successful debut album, Woman to Woman, was released by Stax on their Truth label,^[7] but by 1975, the company was struggling financially and also facing litigation. A follow-up single, "It Ain't No Fun" was only a moderate success, and Stax closed soon afterwards.^[5][8]

Her signing to Arista Records in 1977 resulted in the album Shirley Brown, produced by the former Stax owner Jim Stewart and writer-producer Bettye Crutcher, who provided most of the songs. These included "Blessed Is The Woman" which reached #14 R&B (#102 pop).^[5][9][10]

Brown continued to record for several labels since then, including Fantasy, on the re-formed Stax label, and Sound Town.^[10] She has been with the Mississippi based blues and soul label, Malaco Records since 1989.^[11] She remains a popular live performer, mainly in southern states of the US, without having found the recording success of her earlier years.^[5][12]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Singles[link]

Grammy Award history[link]

• Grammy Award
  • 1975, Best Song of The Year: "Woman to Woman" (Nominated)

See also[link]

• List of 1970s one-hit wonders in the United States

References[link]

External links[link]

• Allmusic.com
• Blues.about.com
• Shirley Brown Discography
• Shirley Brown, Malaco Records

Bessie Regina Norris,^[1] better known by her stage name, Betty Wright (born December 21, 1953),^[2] is a Miami-based soul and R&B singer-songwriter, who won fame in the 1970s with hits such as "Clean Up Woman" and "Tonight Is the Night". A pioneering singer-songwriter and entrepreneur, she remains one of the few black female musicians to have a gold record on her own vanity label. She possesses a four-octave vocal range and is adept at using the whistle register.^[3]

Early life and career[link]

Born Bessie Regina Norris on December 21, 1953, Wright was the youngest of seven children to 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 gospel group, the Echoes of Joy.^[4] Wright contributed to vocals on the group's first album, released in 1956. Wright and her siblings performed together until the mid-1960s.

In 1965, following the group's break-up, 11-year-old 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 being spotted by a local Miami record label owner, who signed her to her first label in 1966 at twelve. 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 Alston record label, part of Henry Stone's TK recording and distribution company. A year later, Wright released her debut album, My First Time Around, when she was still 14 and scored her first hit single with Judy White's "Girls Can't Do What Guys Do".^[4] While still in high school in 1970, Wright released the sensual "Pure Love" at the age of sixteen.

Breakthrough[link]

About a year later, Wright released her signature song, "Clean Up Woman", written by Clarence Reid and Willie Clarke when she was 17. The record reached number two on the R&B charts, where it stayed for eight weeks. It crossed over to the pop charts, peaking at number six and staying on the Billboard Hot 100 for 14 weeks.^[2] It eventually sold over a million copies and was certified gold on December 30, 1971,^[2] nine days before the singer turned 18. Wright struggled with a successful follow-up until 1972 when the single "Baby Sitter" (one of Wright's first compositions) reached the top 50 of the Hot 100 and peaked at number six on the R&B charts. Another hit that emerged during this early period was 1973's "Let Me Be Your Lovemaker", which peaked at number 55 on the Hot 100 and number 10 on the R&B chart, it was also the first instance (after "Baby Sitter") where Wright showed off her powerful whistle register vocals. Another successful composition was the proto-disco number, "Where Is the Love" (co-written by Wright, with producers, Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch, from KC & The Sunshine Band). This peaked at number 15 on the R&B chart, number-two on the dance charts and crossed over to the UK, peaking at #25, leading Wright to perform overseas. Wright later won the Best R&B Song Grammy Award for composing "Where Is the Love".^[4]

A second prominent overseas hit was another proto-disco number, "Shoorah! Shoorah!" Both songs appeared on one of Wright's most popular albums, Danger! High Voltage!, released in late 1974. It would be on this album that Wright would have her most successful composition, with the smooth soul ballad, "Tonight Is the Night", which Wright attributed to her first sexual experiences. The original version peaked at number 28 on the R&B chart. Four years later, Wright released a "live" version of the song. The remodeled version, which included a now-famous monologue and portions of Wright's 1970 hit, "Pure Love", peaked at number 11 on the R&B chart in 1978.

That same year, Wright also discovered the talents of musician Peter Brown and sang background on Brown's hits, "You Should Do It" and "Dance With Me" (where her vocals were prominently featured alongside Brown's). In 1978, she performed a duet with shock rocker Alice Cooper on the song "No Tricks" and a year later, opened for Bob Marley on the reggae star's Survival Tour. Wright's other albums at the end of the 1970s were less successful and by 1981, as TK began to struggle, she moved on to a bigger label, signing with Epic where her self-titled album was released.

The album was notable for the minor Stevie Wonder-composed hit, "What Are You Gonna Do With It". That same year, she contributed vocals on Richard "Dimples" Fields' Dimples album, especially on the hit, "She's Got Papers on Me", where she catches Fields singing out about another woman, verbally attacking him in the ending monologue. In 1983, the album Wright Back at You featured compositions by Marlon Jackson, of the Jackson Five. Four years later, Wright issued the album, Sevens.

In 1985, Wright formed her own label, Miss B Records. In 1988, Wright made history as the first black female artist to score a gold album on her label when the album, Mother Wit, was released. The album was notable for the hits, "No Pain, No Gain" and "After the Pain". Her 1994 album B-Attitudes featured a remixed duet of Marvin Gaye's "Distant Lover". Since then she has self-released several more recordings while still performing successfully as a live act. She had a hit duet with Grayson Hugh on the remake of Champaign's 1981 hit, "How 'Bout Us", and later arranged the harmonies for Gloria Estefan's "Coming Out of the Dark", which hit number-one in 1991. Wright took a break from recording following the releases of 1990's Passion & Compassion and 1994's B-Attitudes. In 2001, a compilation album, The Very Best of Betty Wright, was released, along with her first studio album for several years, Fit for a King. In 2008, Wright was featured on a Lil Wayne track titled "Playing With Fire" however, due to a lawsuit the song was removed from the album online.^[4]

In 2006, Wright appeared on the TV show Making the Band as a vocal coach, appointed by Sean Combs, for new female group Danity Kane. She now mentors several young singers and has done vocal production for such artists as Gloria Estefan, Jennifer Lopez and Joss Stone. Along with co-producers Steve Greenberg and Michael Mangini, Wright was nominated for a 2005 Grammy Award in the "Best Pop Album" category for producing Joss Stone's Mind, Body & Soul LP.

Wright, Greenberg and Mangini also produced two tracks on Tom Jones's 2008 album 24 Hours: a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "The Hitter" and "More Than Memories", written by Stax legend Carla Thomas. The trio also produced the debut album by Diane Birch in 2009. In December 2010, Wright was given another Grammy Award nomination for the song, "Go", on the Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance. In January 2011, it was announced that Wright would release her first album in ten years. The album Betty Wright: The Movie, credited to Betty Wright and The Roots, produced by Wright and Ahmir Questlove Thompson was released November 15, 2011 on Ms. B Records/S-Curve Records.^[5] Betty Wright: The Movie also included collaborations with Joss Stone, Snoop Dogg, Lil' Wayne and Lenny Williams. "Surrender", a track from the album, was nominated for a 2011 Grammy in the "Best Traditional R&B Perfromance" category. "Grapes on a Vine", another track from the album, was sung by Lola at first at her official site.

On New Year's Eve 2011, she appeared on BBC2 Television in the UK on the Jools's Annual Hootenanny show backed by the Jools Holland Rhythm & Blue Orchestra. She performed her singles "Clean Up Woman" and "Shoorah! Shoorah!" alongside "In the Middle of the Game (Don't Change the Play)" from Betty Wright: The Movie.

Legacy[link]

Several of Wright's works have been sampled over the years by hip hop, rock and R&B musicians. The riff from "Clean Up Woman" has been sampled constantly by acts such as Afrika Bambaattaa, SWV, Mary J. Blige and Sublime. Wright's first hit, "Girls Can't Do What Guys Do", was sampled for Beyoncé's "Upgrade U". Another hugely sampled song has been "Tonight Is the Night". The song was first sampled (in both the original studio and live versions) in 1990 by rapper Candyman, on his one-hit wonder, "Knockin' Boots". In 1992, Wright sued the producers behind Color Me Badd's breakthrough hit, "I Wanna Sex You Up", after claiming they used the sample of her live version without clearance and without permission, and sued for royalties. Wright won her case, winning 35 percent of royalties for writing the song.^[6] Other artists who sampled "Tonight is the Night" include DJ Quik, who sampled the song on his first released single, "Tonite". Her cover of the song, "Shoorah! Shoorah!", which she recorded in 1974, was used in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The song, which was written by Allen Toussaint and first recorded by Frankie Miller, also appears on the soundtrack to the second series of the UK Channel 4 comedy drama, No Angels. In 2002, RJD2 used a sample from Wright's 1974 hit "Secretary" in his most commercially successful track, "Ghostwriter". "Ghostwriter" has since gone on to be used in multiple advertisements and commercials.

Personal life[link]

On December 24, 2005, her 21-year-old son Patrick Parker was shot and killed after a dispute at a Christmas party in Opa-locka, a Miami suburb.^[7] Wright's mother Rosa passed away in September 2010 at the age of 85.^[1]

Wright currently resides in her hometown of Miami.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• My First Time Around (1968)
• I Love The Way You Love (1972)
• Hard To Stop (1973)
• Danger High Voltage (1974)
• Explosion! (1976)
• This Time For Real (1977)
• Live (1978)
• Travelin' In The Wright Circle (1979)
• Betty Wright (1981)
• Wright Back At You (1983)
• Sevens (1986)
• Mother Wit (1987)
• 4u2njoy (1989)
• Passion & Compassion (1990)
• B-Attitudes (1994)
• Fit for A King (2001)
• Betty Wright: The Movie - with The Roots (2011) ^[8]

Singles[link]

• 1966: "Thank You Baby"
• 1966: "Paralyzed"
• 1968: "Girls Can't Do What Guys Do" (#33 U.S., #15 R&B)
• 1970: "Pure Love" (#40 R&B)
• 1971: "Clean Up Woman" (#6 U.S., #2 R&B)
• 1972: "Baby Sitter" (#46 U.S., #6 R&B)
• 1972: "Is It You, Girl?" (#18 R&B)
• 1972: "I'm Gettin' Tired Baby" (#42 R&B)
• 1973: "It's Hard to Stop (Doing Something When It's Good to You)" (#72 U.S., #11 R&B)
• 1973: "Let Me Be Your Lovemaker" (#55 U.S., #10 R&B)
• 1973: "It's Bad for Me to See You" (#66 R&B)
• 1974: "Secretary" (#62 U.S., #12 R&B)
• 1975: "Where is the Love?" (#96 U.S., #15 R&B, #2 Disco, #2 Club Play, #25 UK)
• 1975: "Tonight is the Night" (#28 R&B)
• 1975: "Shoorah! Shoorah!" (#28 R&B, #27 UK)
• 1976: "Slip and Do It" (#21 R&B)
• 1976: "If I Ever Do Wrong" (#23 R&B)
• 1977: "Life" (#64 R&B)
• 1977: "You Can't See for Lookin'" (#73 R&B)
• 1978: "Dance With Me" (with Peter Brown) (#5 R&B, #8 pop)
• 1978: "Tonight is the Night, Pts. 1 & 2 (live)" (#11 R&B)
• 1979: "Lovin' Is Really My Game" (#68 R&B)
• 1979: "My Love Is" (#48 R&B)
• 1981: "What Are You Gonna Do With It?" (#42 R&B, #61 Dance)
• 1981: "Goodbye You Hello Him" (#65 R&B)
• 1983: "She's Older Now" (#22 R&B)
• 1986: "Pain" (#42 UK)
• 1988: "No Pain, No Gain" (#14 R&B)
• 1988: "After the Pain" (#57 R&B)
• 1989: "From Pain to Joy" (#39 R&B)
• 1989: "Quiet Storm" (#88 R&B)
• 1989: "Keep Love New" (#71 R&B)
• 1990: "How 'Bout Us" (with Grayson Hugh) (#30 R&B, #67 pop)
• 1994: "For Love Alone" (#98 R&B)
• 2007: "Baby" (with Angie Stone) (#22 R&B, #3 Dance)
• 2011: "Grapes on the vine (with Lil Wayne and The Roots)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Betty Wright at Allmusic
• Betty Wright on Myspace

Bettie Page
Playboy centerfold appearance
January 1955
Preceded by	Terry Ryan
Succeeded by	Jayne Mansfield
Personal details
Born	Betty Mae Page (1923-04-22)April 22, 1923 Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Died	December 11, 2008(2008-12-11) (aged 85) Los Angeles, California, USA
Measurements	Bust: 36" Waist: 23" Hips: 36½"
Height	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)[1]

Bettie Mae Page (April 22, 1923 Nashville, Tennessee – December 11, 2008^[2][3]) was an American model who became famous in the 1950s for her fetish modeling and pin-up photos. She has often been called the "Queen of Pinups".^[4] Her look, including her jet black hair, blue eyes and trademark bangs, has influenced many artists.

She was "Miss January 1955", one of the earliest Playmates of the Month for Playboy magazine. "I think that she was a remarkable lady, an iconic figure in pop culture who influenced sexuality, taste in fashion, someone who had a tremendous impact on our society,"^[5] Playboy founder Hugh Hefner told the Associated Press.

In 1959, she converted to born-again Christianity, and later worked for Billy Graham.^[6] Her later life was marked by depression, violent mood swings and several years in a state psychiatric hospital.^[7][8] After years of obscurity, she experienced a resurgence of popularity in the 1980s.

Early life[link]

Page was the second of six children born to Walter Roy Page and Edna Mae Pirtle.^[9][10] At a young age, Page had to face the responsibilities of caring for her younger siblings. Her parents divorced when she was 10 years old. (In the 1930 Census, a few weeks before Bettie's 7th birthday, her mother Edna Pirtle Page was already listed as being divorced.^{[citation needed]} After her father, whom Page would accuse of molesting her starting at age 13, was imprisoned,^[11] Page and her two sisters lived in an orphanage for a year.^{[citation needed]} During this time, Page's mother worked two jobs, one as a hairdresser during the day and washing laundry at night.^{[citation needed]}