Global cases of COVID-19 surpassed 3.5 million at the start of another week of enduring death and easing restrictions. Across Asia-Pacific, states in Australia began opening up and New Zealand reported no new cases of coronavirus for the first time in six weeks, as Jacinda Ardern floated the idea of a travel bubble between the two countries. Japan provisionally extended its state of emergency until the end of the month, but as the Golden Week holiday drew to a close and cases declined, the government considered easing measures in some prefectures. South Korea sought to reopen schools and get back into the swing via relaxed social distancing, but after four days without local transmission of the virus an outbreak linked to a clubber in the Seoul district of Itaewon closed bars and threatened the nation’s steady progress. Schools for senior students had reopened in Wuhan, but by the end of the week the first case in the region in more than a month and a cluster of infections in the northeast city of Shulan meant a small spike of cases in China.
Minimal infection rates in Hong Kong brought the reopening of bars, gyms, cinemas, and beauty parlours. But cases continued to rise in Indonesia and Singapore, while in Singapore and neighbouring Malaysia there was renewed focus on mental health, care homes, and infection rates among foreign workers. By last call on Sunday, there were over 14,000 cases in Indonesia and 23,000 in Singapore, and the countries took steps to reopen in the beginning of June even while Malaysia extended an order governing conditional movement. Meanwhile India entered its third lockdown phase, with alcohol sales and recoveries flowing almost as fast as infections. By the end of the working week cases had stormed past 50,000, with the state of Maharashtra faring worst and liquor stores packed as the country embarked on a major repatriation effort. Next door, Pakistan put the economy first, opening up despite a surge of infections.
Across the Middle East, cases were steadily building in Iran and Saudi Arabia, even if slowed growth allowed for the reopening of some neighbourhoods and mosques. With more than 6,000 deaths and cases surpassing 100,000, Iran remained the most affected nation in the region. The reopening process was moving with more haste in Israel,Ā which lifted limits on movement and welcomed back markets and malls. By the weekend active cases dropped below 5,000 and the country recorded no new deaths for the first time since 28 March, but while preschools added to the back-to-work atmosphere, restrictions on class sizes and dissenting parents and municipalities meant many kids remained at home. Curfews were extended in Lebanon and Turkey, even as Turkey called the outbreak ‘under control’. COVID-19 continued its slow spread over Africa, with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention warning of limited supplies. Masks became mandatory in Zimbabwe as the country pleaded with foreign lenders for economic relief, while on Friday South Africa suffered its biggest single-day spike in infections. By Sunday cases across the continent stood in excess of 60,000.
Daily cases in Russia continued to exceed 10,000, prompting an extended lockdown and mandatory face masks in Moscow while critics questioned the country’s low mortality count. Despite a slowing rate of increase, by Sunday cases across Russia had reached 200,000. In the United Kingdom it was a tale of death and missed testing targets, as the country became the first in Europe to record more than 30,000 fatalities, but a highly anticipated announcement by Boris Johnson on Sunday afforded some respite as the public were encouraged to exercise and garden and otherwise ‘stay alert’. Throughout mainland Europe, the situation was easing up.
At the start of the week Italy began loosening the world’s longest lockdown, as millions of workers returned to construction sites and factories while restaurants reopened for takeout. The death toll surpassed 30,000 during the course of the week, and there were grim reports covering excess fatalities, but by the weekend both cases and deaths were tailing off. Tentative easing was also the order in Spain, as although the Congress of Deputies approved a fourth extension to the state of alarm while the death tally surpassed 26,000, stabilising deaths and declining infections allowed more than half of the population to prepare for the next phase of the country’s deescalation plan. France too stretched past the figure of 26,000 deaths as the death tally continued to fluctuate, but consistently declining cases and hospitalisations allowed the French by and large to look forward to a brighter week ahead. Like Madrid and Barcelona in Spain however, the French capital of Paris could not relax just quite yet.
Germany took strides with the reopening of shops and schools, though by the end of the week the race to reopen had wrought a slight rise in the country’s infection rate. In Austria newly reopened shops had not hastened the spread. The Netherlands and Belgium detailed broader reopening strategies. Swift action from the outset meant easing measures in Denmark and Norway, which now planned to drop all remaining restrictions by the middle of June, while Sweden’s alternative approach continued to attract diverse attention as total deaths in the country surpassed 3,000. Away from the frontlines of the pandemic, a couple of weeks after Liberation Day in Italy and Portugal, Europe paused to commemorate the end of the Second World War. The 75th anniversary of VE Day was marked by lonely wreath-laying ceremonies, deserted streets, and a Queen’s speech in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. Less than twenty-four hours later, Victory Day in Eastern Europe saw air shows take the place of rescheduled parades across Russia, while Belarus still swaggered and celebrations in Ukraine remained more subdued.
There were ups and downs in the world of sport, as the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament was cancelled in Japan, while baseball was back in South Korea and the return of the Bundesliga in Germany was confirmed for next week. Financially there were more downs than ups, as Hong Kong’s economy slumped by 8.9 percent, the worst contraction on record, while retail sales in Singapore suffered their biggest fall in more than two decades as they plunged by 13.3 percent. The Bank of England warned of the worst recession on record in the United Kingdom, and jobless claims jumped by more than 3 million in the United States, taking the tally beyond 33 million over the past seven weeks. France sought to bolster a struggling arts sector as the country confirmed closed borders until at least 15 June, and the United Kingdom proposed a two-week quarantine for all incoming travellers. But even as Airbnb cut 25 percent of its workforce, countries including Germany, Italy, Croatia, and Greece sounded notes of optimism over the summer ahead. Where tourism does occur it is likely to be short-haul and domestic, as the World Tourism Organization warned that across 2020 international tourism could fall between 60 and 80 percent. The United States and Canada continued to petition for Taiwan at the World Health Organization, but tolerance is not on the rise as the United Nations warned that coronavirus had unleashed a ‘torrent’ of hate speech.
Scientific research provoked diverse discussion around the potential impact of mutations, while seeking to rectify the onset of coronavirus in France, Europe, and beyond. Teams in the Netherlands and Israel touted early success in antibody development, Japan okayed the antiviral drug remdesivir, and the United States Food and Drug Administraton approved home saliva and antigen tests for the first time. In the United States and the United Kingdom, more studies showed the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on black and Latino communities. Research conducted by the Hamilton Project suggested a rise in child hunger across America, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a report on the spread of coronavirus in detention facilities. Yet there was still room for a little novelty and levity, as for the first time in history New York City shut down the entire subway system, twenty miles of Seattle streets were preserved for pedestrians and bikes, while nearly 20,000 teens in Georgia were handed driving licenses without having to take road tests.
Still the White House was a source of conflicting motives and confusion in the United States. An internal analysis prepared by the departments of Health and Homeland Security and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, subsequently disowned by the White House, suggested as many as 3,000 deaths and 200,000 cases of coronavirus each day by the beginning of June. The administration reversed course after initially planning to wind down the work of its coronavirus task force, but still shelved CDC advice around reopening. And on Sunday Anthony Fauci, the face of the scientific response in America, plus two other members of the coronavirus task force went into self-quarantine following contact with the virus, adding to the sense of tumult. In the meantime former president Barack Obama decried the government’s handling of the crisis, which he described as ‘chaotic disaster’ in private remarks which touched on the Justice Department’s decision to drop charges against former Trump adviser Michael Flynn.
Across the state of New York the spread of the virus was stabilising, and Governor Andrew Cuomo was keeping his options open as a spike in the care home figures prompted fresh regulation while crowding forced limited capacity at New York City parks. Deaths in New York passed 21,000 this week, which was at the centre of concerns over a coronavirus-related inflammatory syndrome cropping up among children. New Jersey and Connecticut followed New York in announcing that schools would remain closed for the rest of the academic year, but after topping 8,000 deaths in the Garden State finally began to fall as Governor Phil Murphy voiced optimism for Memorial Day weekend.
States opened sequentially in Florida and Arkansas, compelling one country singer to advertise a concert for next week.Ā Though deaths in Texas passed 1,000, hair salons and barbershops reopened across the state. In Michigan Gretchen Whitmer extended the stay-at-home order, while allowing the auto industry to resume work from 11 May. The first drop in weekly deaths across California prompted the opening of retail stores for roadside pickup, which commenced on Friday, even as the outlook remained uncertain and prospective voters were encouraged to vote by mail.Ā Meanwhile Latin America was steadily emerging as the latest virus hotspot, amid allegations that deaths in Mexico City amounted to three times the reported total, while the country turned its attention towards rising temperatures and a precipitous beer drought. The scenario in Brazil was deteriorating more rapidly, as the country reported a record 10,503 cases and 615 deaths in the middle of the week, raising eyebrows around president Jair Bolsonaro’s defiant response. By the end of the week, the prevalence of antibodies in the previously infected posted some hope for eventual immunity, but global cases of coronavirus had surpassed 4 million.
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The most winning NFL coach and Miami Dolphins icon Don Shula died on Monday at the age of 90 years old. Across twenty-six seasons with the Dolphins, Shula led his side to five Super Bowls, achieving two victories and the only perfect season in NFL history in 1972. In total over a coaching career which spanned thirty-three years at the elite level, Shula suffered just two losing seasons while winning a record 347 games. Before arriving in Miami, Shula had played professional football for seven seasons with the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Colts, and Washington Redskins. With a master’s degree in physical education, upon his retirement he embarked on a career in coaching, working his way up from college football to the NFL as a coach of defensive backs. In 1963, he was recruited for the job of head coach by his former club the Baltimore Colts, where he became the youngest coach in league history at the time at just 33 years old. Taking over a side still guided on the pitch by star quarterback Johnny Unitas, Shula recorded seven winning seasons in his time with the Colts, galvanising the team to Super Bowl III where they lost to the underdog New York Jets and Joe Namath, and picking up three NFL Coach of the Year Awards.
In 1970, in the midst of a protracted merger between the NFL and upstart AFL, Shula was lured to the Miami Dolphins. Building his side on an ethos of strong running and collective defence, under Shula the Dolphins reached the Super Bowl on three consecutive occasions between 1971 and 1973. After losing out to the Dallas Cowboys in their first finals appearance at Super Bowl VI, the following year the Dolphins went 17-0 to record the league’s only perfect season, clinching Super Bowl VII with victory over the Washington Redskins. At Super Bowl VIII Miami went on to beat the Minnesota Vikings, becoming only the second team to successfully defend their crown. The next Super Bowl appearance for the Dolphins came at the close of the 1982 season, and they were back a couple of years later inspired by the rangy passing of young quarterback Dan Marino, though Shula twice ended up on the losing team. By the time he resigned from his post in 1995, Shula had attained legendary status in Miami and an unsurpassed coaching record of 347-173-6.
Sought out by team owners Carroll Rosenbloom at the Colts and Joe Robbie at the Dolphins, in the 1980s Shula was almost tempted away from the Dolphins by Donald Trump, who offered him $5 million to take over as head coach of the New Jersey Generals in the newfangled USFL. In retirement Shula lent his name to a hotel and a chain of steakhouses, while serving as a longtime member of the NFL Competition Committee and supporting charitable work. In 1997, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and in 2010 a statue of Shula was unveiled outside Hard Rock Stadium. His death was marked by former players, fellow coaches, and the Miami Dolphins, who said in a statement that Shula ‘brought the winning edge to our franchise and put the Dolphins and the city of Miami in the national sports scene. Our deepest thoughts and prayers go out to Mary Anne along with his children Dave, Donna, Sharon, Anne and Mike’.
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The Pulitzer Prizes, honouring excellence in journalism and the arts, were announced on Monday at some remove owing to the coronavirus pandemic. Among the recipients this year, the Anchorage Daily News with contributions from the nonprofit ProPublica won the public service award for an in-depth investigation into sexual violence in Alaska, garnering for these publications the prestigious Pulitzer gold medal. Brian M. Rosenthal of The New York Times received the investigate reporting award for a five-part series on reckless loans which indebted a generation of immigrant cab drivers, and the staff of The Washington Post won the explanatory reporting award for sustained focus on global warming.
Nikole Hannah-Jones of The New York Times claimed the commentary award for her blend of personal anecdote and history as part of The 1619 Project, seeking to rectify the narrative of the United States with renewed focus on black experience and the legacy of slavery. When The New York Times Magazine published The 1619 Project in a special edition last August, readers lined the streets to secure copies, but the endeavour received criticism from several academics who accused Hannah-Jones and other contributors of factual errors and unsupported assertions, particularly around the role slavery played in the American Revolution. This criticism prompted a response from the magazine’s editor in chief Jake Silverstein, and a further update in March. Ben Taub at The New Yorker won the feature writing award for the story of Mohamedou Salahi, who was imprisoned without charge at Guantanamo Bay for more than fourteen years before his release in 2016. And This American Life, with Molly O’Toole of the Los Angeles Times and Emily Green of Vice News, won the inaugural Pulitzer Prize for audio reporting.
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Florian Schneider, whose droll wit and mechanised soundscapes as a founding member of the pioneering electronic band Kraftwerk changed the face of popular music, died of cancer aged 73 years old. Born in 1947 in the French occupation zone of southern Germany, Schneider grew up in DĆ¼sseldorf and after studying music and playing in the experimental ensemble Organisation, founded Kraftwerk with Ralf HĆ¼tter in 1970. Trained as a flautist, treating his instrument with electronic effects while incorporating violins, guitars, and synthesizers, with Schneider at the helm Kraftwerk swiftly released two self-titled albums hinting at rock atmospherics while exploring metallic percussion, droning bass, and musique concrĆØte. Kraftwerk, Kraftwerk 2, and their successor Ralf und Florian placed the fledgeling band in the midst of a flourishing scene called Krautrock: an umbrella term flippantly devised by the British press which incorporated the rock and psychedelia-infused, motorised rhythms of German bands including Can, Faust, Neu! – formed by earlier members of Kraftwerk – Tangerine Dream, and Amon DĆ¼Ć¼l II. Yet it was the release of Kraftwerk’s fourth album Autobahn in 1974 which defined the band’s sound and brought them wider acclaim.
Structurally taut with grinding repetition and a freewheeling sense of the road, making prominent use of the Minimoog, ARP Odyssey, EMS Synthi AKS, and custom-built electronic drums, Autobahn was a surprise international hit, reaching the top five of the album charts in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. The success of Autobahn led to an international tour, and allowed the band to invest in their Kling Klang recording studio while work progressed on their follow-up. Radio-Activity confirmed the conceptual nature of Kraftwerk records and consolidated the band’s lineup, now a four-piece incorporating Schneider and HĆ¼tter on vocals and synthesizers alongside the percussionists Karl Bartos and Wulfgang FlĆ¼r. A trio of classic albums followed between 1977 and 1981 in the form of Trans-Europe Express, The Man-Machine, and Computer World, in which tersely robotised lyrics on themes of alienation and urbanisation rubbed up against a sleek palette of mechanised funk.
Schneider increasingly turned his attention towards the technological aspects of Kraftwerk’s music, devising vocoders and dabbling in the studio with a perfectionist streak which compelled HĆ¼tter to describe him as a ‘sound fetishist’. Live performances had become more elaborate, with film projections, mannequins, and a fully-fledged studio setup embellishing the expressionist light show, but the pace of music slowed. In the meantime Kraftwerk’s influence percolated the body of popular music, from David Bowie’s Berlin period and ‘V-2 Schneider’ and synth-pop and ambient, to ‘Planet Rock’ by Afrika Bambaataa and the Soul Sonic Force and the first footsteps of techno out of Detroit. By the early 2000s, Kraftwerk were in the process of becoming a monolithic touring band, but following Electric CafĆ© in 1986 they would release just one more studio album with Tour de France Soundtracks in 2003. Schneider left Kraftwerk in 2008. Famously reclusive even at the height of the band’s success, his death occurred on 21 April before being announced on Wednesday. Tributes were paid to his enduring legacy by Giorgio Moroder, Holly Herndon, Nigel Godrich, and more.
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Scientists studying the mightiest storms in our solar system managed to obtain a ‘lucky’ image of the planet Jupiter this week. The team of researchers led by Michael Wong at the University of California, Berkeley have been trying to fathom how Jupiter’s atmosphere works, with its ceaseless storms including thunderheads five times taller than on Earth, and lightning flashes up to three times more powerful. To this end they have been making use of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and the Gemini Observatory in Hawaii, alongside NASA’s Juno space probe which entered into a polar orbit in 2016 and makes regular passes of the gaseous planet. Juno’s microwave radiometer can pick up radio signals deep into the planet’s atmosphere, penetrating dense layers of cloud, while high-resolution optical and infrared images captured by Hubble and Gemini round out the picture, furnishing the researchers with information about the nature of the cloud covering.
The result is that the team have been able to associate lightning strikes on Jupiter with three cloud combinations: deep clouds comprised of water, large convective clouds caused by an upwelling of moist air, and clearer regions probably caused by the downwelling of drier air outside convective towers. Previous images from Juno had indicated changing patterns in the clouds and storms which cover Jupiter, including at the site of the Great Red Spot, a region of persistent high pressure south of the planet’s equator which produces a continuous anticyclonic storm. The Great Red Spot covers the largest storm in the entire solar system, an area slightly larger than Earth. Juno alone was unable to explain the shifting presentation of the Great Red Spot and other atmospheric regions, but Hubble and Gemini have now shown that areas which appear dark in visible light appear very bright in infrared. These darker patterns are therefore indicators of low cloud covering, allowing us to see far into Jupiter’s fiery interior. Stitching together multiple exposures from Hubble and Gemini and using a technique called ‘lucky imaging’ which scrubs away turbulent atmospheric effects, the researchers have produced one of the clearest images yet of the gas giant and its glowing warmth, with Wong describing a ‘jack-o-lantern’ effect.
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Little Richard, one of the defining figures of twentieth-century music for his theatrical crossover appeal and trailblazing rock and roll, died on Saturday at his home in Tennessee at the age of 87 following a short illness. Born in Macon, Georgia as the third of twelve children to an extended family closely entwined with the church, the young Richard Wayne Penniman was nourished on the music of Brother Joe May, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and Mahalia Jackson, thunderous gospel with the swagger of rhythm and blues. An early encounter with Tharpe at the Macon City Auditorium encouraged Penniman to become a singer, and by his mid-teens he was performing regularly on tour, sometimes in drag as part of the minstrel show circuit, moving to Atlanta and adopting the name Little Richard alongside his signature pompadour hairdo. An acquaintance with the jump blues singer Billy Wright and the local disc jockey Zenas Sears led to a contract in 1951 with RCA Victor, but although the single ‘Every Hour’ gained regional airplay across Georgia, Little Richard spent the next few years hotfooting between labels in search of national success.
In 1955, Little Richard moved to Specialty Records, where at the artist’s behest he was sent to New Orleans to record with the producer Robert ‘Bumps’ Blackwell and some of Fats Domino’s session musicians. A risquĆ© throwaway whose sexualised lyrics had to be toned down by the songwriter Dorothy LaBostrie, but whose singular vocalisations had been honed in live performances over the past few years, recorded in three takes that September, ‘Tutti Frutti’ became an immediate hit, reaching number two on the Billboard rhythm and blues chart before climbing to number twenty-one on the Billboard Hot 100. With its rapid-fire boogie-woogie and vocal dynamics, in all the time it took to lay out the phrase ‘A-wop-bop-a-loo-bop-a-wop-bam-boom!’, Little Richard had provided the template for rock and roll. ‘Long Tall Sally’ in the spring fared even better in the charts, landing at number one on the R&B listing and peaking at thirteen on the Billboard Hot 100. The debut album Here’s Little Richard, a collection of singles and fillers, was released the following year, while songs such as ‘Rip It Up’, ‘Ready Teddy’, ‘Lucille’, ‘Jenny, Jenny’, and ‘Good Golly, Miss Molly’ continued the stream of hits on Specialty as Little Richard relocated to Los Angeles and saw his career flourish.
Little Richard’s raspy holler and racy flamboyance brought in the crowds, as his soaring popularity and the sight of whites and blacks dancing to the same music challenged the practice of segregated venues across the south. Bill Haley & His Comets and Elvis Presley soon covered Little Richard’s songs, further establishing his credentials, while he appeared in several films including The Girl Can’t Help It and musicals under the auspices of disc jockey Alan Freed. By the end of the fifties, a perilous flight on a tour of Australia and financial difficulties prompted Little Richard to abandon secular music for a life in the ministry, which lasted until 1962. After some success as a gospel singer, including the 1962 album King of the Gospel Singers produced by Quincy Jones, Little Richard was encouraged to tour Europe by the promoter Don Arden, where he quickly forewent gospel for the raptures of rock and roll, topping lineups with support from Sam Cooke and The Beatles. His recording output remained patchy as he switched labels and received limited promotion, and he dropped his longtime backing band the Upsetters for the Crown Jewels, but acclaimed performances at rock festivals and a look of heightened androgyny kept up the celebrity appeal.
Further dalliances with Christianity were interrupted by showy comebacks, as through drug problems, tell-all autobiographies, and film appearances Little Richard maintained a lively touring schedule, finally at the onset of the 2010s starting to let up. His final album featuring new material, Little Richard Meets Masayoshi Takanaka, was released in 1992. In 1986 he was one of the inaugural inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in 1990 he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and in 2003 he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Little Richard has also been honoured for lifetime achievement by the Recording Academy, the Blues Hall of Fame, and the National Museum of African American Music. In 2007, a panel of artists from Chuck D to Brian Wilson placed ‘Tutti Frutti’ number one on a list of world-changing records, and in 2010 the song was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry. With an indelible voice and a careening sound, at the forefront of artists who have broken down boundaries of race and sexuality, a formative influence on popular music from the soul of Otis Redding to the funk of James Brown, Little Richard’s death was marked by tributes from such luminaries as Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, and Lenny Kravitz.
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Almost two months after their last event, following a slew of postponements and cancellations and interminable fiddling with the card, finally on Saturday a reworked UFC 249 went ahead from the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. Originally UFC 249 had been scheduled for 18 April at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, with the main event the long-awaited bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson for ascendancy in the lightweight division. That fight alone had already been scheduled and then cancelled on four separate occasions owing to various injury concerns. Coronavirus put paid to it for a fifth time as international travel restrictions left Nurmagomedov stranded in his native Dagestan, while distancing measures meant that sporting events were a no-go in the state of New York. Dana White, the UFC President, scrambled for an alternative, but suggestions that the card would take place at an Indian casino in California were scotched under the weight of state governor Gavin Newsom, ESPN, and the sports channel’s parent company Disney.
In the meantime Justin Gaethje had been drafted to face Ferguson for the interim lightweight title, while co-headliner and former strawweight champion Rose Namajunas withdrew from her scheduled bout versus JĆ©ssica Andrade citing the recent death of two family members from COVID-19. Travel restrictions and visa issues led to more tinkering with the card, which was finally set for the state of Florida after governor Ron DeSantis signed an executive order declaring national sporting events an ‘essential service’. The violence could commence, inevitably behind closed doors. Even a late coronavirus outbreak could hardly dampen the excitement, as despite JacarĆ© Souza and two of his cornermen testing positive for the virus and the protestations of health professionals, White grunted then elaborated the show must go on. By Sunday morning, Tony Ferguson too was probably having doubts, as the perennial contender who went into the event on a twelve-fight winning streak suffered a fifth-round stoppage at Gaethje’s hands, shattering his title hopes. The amended co-main saw Henry Cejudo retain his bantamweight title following the early stoppage of Dominick Cruz, while Francis Ngannou made light work of Jairzinho Rozenstruick and Calvin Kattar cut up Jeremy Stephens. Anthony Pettis, Carla Esparza, and Vicente Luque scored handy wins in the prelims.
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The iconic seventies soul and R&B singer Betty Wright died of cancer on Sunday at 66 years old. Born Bessie Regina Norris in Miami, Florida as the youngest of seven children, Wright began her professional career when at the age of two she and her siblings formed the gospel group Echoes of Joy. Still only twelve years old and already performing under her stage name, she signed her first solo contract with Deep City Records, and had regional hits in Miami singing secular rhythm and blues. By 1968 Wright had moved to Alston Records, which had national distribution through the Atlantic imprint ATCO, and at the age of fourteen she released her debut solo album My First Time Around, featuring the hit single ‘Girls Can’t Do What the Guys Do’. A propulsive, horn-laden, soulful R&B number in which Wright sings with poise and a tinge of melancholy on the expectations of women and the infidelities of men, ‘Girls Can’t Do What the Guys Do’ climbed to thirty-three on the Billboard Hot 100 and fifteen on the R&B chart.
Still the tale wasn’t just of precocious youth and early accomplishment: Wright’s mother had refused to allow Echoes of Joy to perform with James Brown, telling the progenitor of funk that the group ‘only sing gospel music’, and now despite the success of ‘Girls Can’t Do What the Guys Do’ Wright was forced to decline an appearance on American Bandstand owing to the rigours of her all-girls school principal. In 1971 Wright released her signature song ‘Clean Up Woman’. Written and produced by Clarence Reid and Willie Clarke, anticipating disco with its grooving bassline and syncopated funk, and boasting courtesy of Willie ‘Little Beaver’ Hale one of the most memorable guitar licks in all of popular music, the song finds Wright lamenting the wanton disregard which sent her man into the arms of another. ‘Clean Up Woman’ proved Wright’s most successful release, peaking at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and two on the rhythm and blues listing. The song was certified gold by the RIAA on 30 December, 1971, little more than a week after Wright’s eighteenth birthday. ‘Baby Sitter’ followed as Wright became a mainstay on the R&B chart, making prominent use of her distinct whistle register.
In 1975, Wright released two of her most cherished songs, ‘Where Is the Love?’ and ‘Tonight Is the Night’, the former winning the Grammy Award for best R&B composition. She moved to Epic where she released a self-titled album in 1981, and in 1988 she became the first black woman to score a gold album on her own label, as Mother Wit was buoyed by the success of ‘No Pain, No Gain’, which carried Wright back inside the R&B top twenty for the first time in a decade. A constant ally of other artists, who discovered George and Gwen McCrae as part of a longtime association with TK Records, Wright collaborated with such diverse figures as Peter Brown, Stevie Wonder, Bob Marley, and Alice Cooper, at the onset of the 1990s arranging the harmonies for Gloria Estefan’s number one single ‘Coming Out of the Dark’, which also featured Wright on backing vocals. She served as a mentor and producer for artists including Jennifer Lopez and Joss Stone, and counted among the numerous samples of her work BeyoncĆ©’s ‘Upgrade U’ and Chance The Rapper’s ‘Favorite Song’, which interpolated ‘Girls Can’t Do What the Guys Do’ and ‘Clean Up Woman’ respectively. Betty Wright: The Movie with The Roots in 2011 brought Wright her final Grammy nomination.
