Yvonne Lowrene Wright (October 31, 1951 – January 26, 2016) was an American songwriter and vocalist best known for co-writing with Stevie Wonder in the 1970s. Their songs appear on the albums ''

Music of My Mind ''Music of My Mind'' is the fourteenth studio album by American soul musician Stevie Wonder. It was released on March 3, 1972, by Tamla Records, and was Wonder's first to be recorded under a new contract with Motown that allowed him full artist ...

'', ''

Talking Book ''Talking Book'' is the fifteenth studio album by American singer, songwriter, and musician Stevie Wonder, released on October 27, 1972, by Tamla, a subsidiary of Motown Records. This album and '' Music of My Mind'', released earlier the same y ...

'', ''

Fulfillingness' First Finale ''Fulfillingness' First Finale'' is the seventeenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder, released on July 22, 1974 by Tamla, a subsidiary of Motown Records. It is the fourth of five albums from what is considered Wonder's "c ...

'', and '' Stevie Wonder's Journey Through "The Secret Life of Plants"''. She is not known to be related to singer-songwriter

Syreeta Wright Syreeta Wright (February 28, 1946 – July 6, 2004), who recorded professionally under the single name Syreeta, was an American singer-songwriter, best known for her music during the early 1970s through the early 1980s. Wright's career heights we ...

, who also worked with, and was married to, Wonder.

Biography

Yvonne Lowrene Wright-Willis was born in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, United States, to Harry Wright and Margaret Williams in 1951. Wright's mother Margaret was briefly a member of the dance troupe,

Whitey's Lindy Hoppers Whitey's Lindy Hoppers was a professional performing group of exceptional swing dancers that was first organized in the late 1920s by Herbert "Whitey" White in the Savoy Ballroom and disbanded in 1942 after its male members were drafted into World W ...

. As a child Wright sang in her church choir, where she and her older sister Adele were given solos on songs such as James Cleveland's "Two Wings". As a teen Wright and her friends formed vocal groups the Diamonds and the Velveteens. While still a teenager, she performed " Moon River" at Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater and was enlisted to sing background for

Wilson Pickett Wilson Pickett (March 18, 1941 – January 19, 2006) was an American singer and songwriter. A major figure in the development of soul music, Pickett recorded over 50 songs which made the US R&B charts, many of which crossed over to the ''Bill ...

on that same stage. Always a prolific writer, she met Stevie Wonder in the early 1970s and collaborated on six songs over four albums from 1972 to 1979. Their 1972 song "You've Got It Bad Girl" was the B-side to the number 1 single " Superstition". "

They Won't Go When I Go "They Won't Go When I Go" is a song co-written and performed by Stevie Wonder from his 1974 album '' Fulfillingness' First Finale''. This song is the only one on the album that Wonder did not write by himself. His co-writer was Yvonne Wright, ...

" (1974) appeared on the number 1 album ''

'', which was named

Grammy Album of the Year The Grammy Award for Album of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regar ...

. In 1974 '' Jet'' magazine described Wright as Wonder's "girl friend". Their songs have been covered by many artists including

Art Garfunkel Arthur Ira Garfunkel (born November 5, 1941) is an American singer, poet, and actor. He is best known for his partnership with Paul Simon in the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. Highlights of Garfunkel's solo music career include one top-10 h ...

, George Michael, Herbie Hancock, Michael McDonald, and

Josh Groban Joshua Winslow Groban (born February 27, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. His first four solo albums have been certified multi-platinum, and he was charted in 2007 as the number-one best selling artist in the United States, wi ...

. Wright also sang background vocals on

Minnie Riperton Minnie Julia Riperton Rudolph (November 8, 1947 – July 12, 1979) was an American singer-songwriter best known for her 1975 single " Lovin' You" and her four octave D3 to F7 coloratura soprano range. She is also widely known for her use ...

's "The Edge Of A Dream", from Riperton's 1974 breakthrough album ''

Perfect Angel ''Perfect Angel'' is the second studio album by American singer Minnie Riperton, released on August 9, 1974 by Epic Records. The album contains the biggest hit of Riperton's career, " Lovin' You", which topped the U.S. Pop Singles chart for one ...

'', produced by Wonder.Riperton, Minnie. ''Perfect Angel'' (Album Notes). Epic. 1974 Wright continued to sing live in the 1970s and early 1980s. In 1975, she performed in a touring production of '' Hair'' in Spain. She sang background vocals for Lou Rawls and

Millie Jackson Mildred Virginia Jackson (born July 15, 1944) is an American R&B and soul recording artist. Beginning her career in the early 1960s, three of Jackson's albums have been certified gold by the RIAA for over 500,000 copies sold. Jackson's songs o ...

. She was a featured vocalist in touring line-ups for

the Chantels ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

and

the Marvelettes The Marvelettes were an American girl group that achieved popularity in the early to mid-1960s. They consisted of schoolmates Gladys Horton, Katherine Anderson, Georgeanna Tillman, Juanita Cowart (now Cowart Motley), and Georgia Dobbins, who wa ...

, as well as on numerous recordings. Later in life she returned to study in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, and earned a BSc and her MS in Special Education.

Selective discography as songwriter

All songs written by Stevie Wonder and Yvonne Wright.

Singles

Album tracks

References

External links

Yvonne Wright
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the ...

Yvonne Wright
at

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Yvonne 1951 births 2016 deaths African-American songwriters Motown artists American women songwriters 20th-century African-American people People from Harlem 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women 21st-century African-American women