"Clean Up Woman" is a song by

Betty Wright Bessie Regina Norris (December 21, 1953 – May 10, 2020), better known by her stage name Betty Wright, was an American soul and R&B singer, songwriter and background vocalist. Beginning her professional career in the late 1960s as a teena ...

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 In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separate ...

with "I'll Love You Forever" on the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

. The song's distinctive guitar lick was played by Willie " Little Beaver" Hale. It has sold over two million copies with the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

gold disc awarded on December 30, 1972. ''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 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

chart, spending fourteen weeks on the chart. It also reached No. 2 on the U.S.

Black Singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart and remained in that spot for eight weeks, all behind " Let's Stay Together" by

Al Green Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), better known as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Take Me to the River", ...

. It peaked at No. 4 on the Cash Box Top 100 singles chart during the weeks ending January 29, 1972 and February 5, 1972. In Canada, the song reached No. 39.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Samples

The song has been sampled in at least 32 other songs, including the 2013 "Favorite Song" by

Chance the Rapper Chancelor Johnathan Bennett (born April 16, 1993), known professionally as Chance the Rapper, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, and record producer. Born and raised in Chicago, Bennett released his debut mixtape '' 10 Day'' in 2012. He ...

and the 1993 remix of " Real Love" by

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

References

External links

Both Sides Now Publications
* Alston release * Atlantic release 1971 singles Betty Wright songs Songs written by Blowfly (musician) 1971 songs Funk songs Songs written by Willie Clarke (songwriter) {{1970s-R&B-song-stub