"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.[5]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.[5] 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.[6] It peaked at No. 4 on the Cash Box Top 100 singles chart during the weeks ending January 29, 1972 and February 5, 1972.[7] In Canada, the song reached No. 39.[8]
^Billboard Staff (October 19, 2023). "The 500 Best Pop Songs: Staff List". Billboard. Retrieved February 11, 2024. Betty Wright hit the top 10 a year later with "Clean Up Woman," another impressively slinky funk gem...
^Molanphy, Chris (April 30, 2020). "Still Billy Joel to Me Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved April 2, 2024.