"Clean Up Woman"
Side A of the US single
Single by Betty Wright
from the album I Love the Way You Love
B-side"I'll Love You Forever"
ReleasedNovember 1971
StudioCriteria (Miami)[1]
GenreSoul, funk
Length2:40
LabelAlston
Songwriter(s)Clarence Reid, Willie Clarke
Producer(s)Clarence Reid, Willie Clarke
Betty Wright singles chronology
"Pure Love"
(1970) 		"Clean Up Woman"
(1971) 		"Baby Sitter"
(1972)
Official audio
"Clean up Woman" on YouTube

"Clean Up Woman" is a song by Betty Wright from her second studio album, I Love the Way You Love (1972). Written and produced by Clarence Reid and Willie Clarke, it was released in November 1971 in the U.S. as a 7" single with "I'll Love You Forever" on the B-side. The song's distinctive guitar lick was played by Willie "Little Beaver" Hale.

It has sold over two million copies with the RIAA gold disc awarded on December 30, 1972.[2] Billboard ranked it as the No. 49 song for 1972. The song also appears as the beginning and end songs in a medley on the 1978 album Betty Wright Live.

Chart performance

The single reached No. 6 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, spending fourteen weeks on the chart.[2] It also reached No. 2 on the U.S. Black Singles chart and remained in that spot for eight weeks, all behind "Let's Stay Together" by Al Green.[3] It peaked at No. 4 on the Cash Box Top 100 singles chart during the weeks ending January 29, 1972 and February 5, 1972.[4] In Canada, the song reached No. 39.[5]

Samples

The song has been sampled in at least 32 other songs, including the 2013 "Favorite Song" by Chance the Rapper and the 1993 remix of "Real Love" by Mary J. Blige.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ McDonnell, Evelyn (22 July 2008). "Miami sound machine". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  2. ^ a b Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 306. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
  3. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 638.
  4. ^ "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles, week ending FEBRUARY 5, 1972". Cashboxmagazine.com. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  5. ^ a b "RPM Top 100 Singles - February 12, 1972" (PDF). Collectionscanada.gc.ca.
  6. ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  7. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 2/05/72". Cashboxmagazine.com. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  8. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1972/Top 100 Songs of 1972". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  9. ^ "Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1972". Tropicalglen.com. Retrieved 2020-05-11.

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