Betty Wright
In 1968, a local disc jockey introduced Betty Wright as “super-Miami’s own homegrown superstar”. Wright, who grew up in Liberty City, began her solo career at 11 when Clarence Reid and Willie Clarke heard her singing in Johnny’s Record Rack, the base for their Deep City label. A few years later she recorded Girls Can’t Do What the Guys Do, which earned her a spot on TV’s American Bandstand. In 1971, at 18, came the Big One, Clean Up Woman. It sold four million copies and hit No. 6 on the pop charts and No. 2 on the R&B rankings. In 1975, she won a Grammy as co-writer of Where Is the Love, the Roberta Flack-Donny Hathaway smash. In 1977, The New York Times called her “one of the great soul singers.” By 1983, she had recorded eight albums. Today, the soul music legend lives in Miami and continues to enjoy success in the music industry.