Syreeta Wright

Syreeta Wright (born Rita Wright, February 28, 1946 – July 6, 2004), in 1946, and started singing at the age of four. Her father, Lordian Wright, served in the Korean War and was killed there. Wright and her sister Kim were raised by their mother Essie and their grandmother. The Wrights moved back and forth from Detroit to South Carolina, before finally settling in Detroit just as Wright entered high school. Money problems kept Wright from pursuing a career in ballet, so she focused her attention on a music career joining several singing groups, before landing a job as a receptionist for Motown in 1965. because Terrell had been announced in the media as the new lead singer and later during the final performance of Diana Ross & the Supremes.

Wright also sang background on records by the Supremes and by Martha and the Vandellas, notably singing the chorus to the group's modest hit single, "I Can't Dance to That Music You're Playing". Wright met labelmate Stevie Wonder in 1968, The album also featured one duet with G. C. Cameron, formerly of the Spinners.

Production on Wright's third album, One to One mainly produced by Leon Ware, who also produced Marvin Gaye and Riperton, went on for two years. The album featured the sole Wonder production, "Harmour Love", which later would find some success after being featured on the 2005 movie Junebug. During this period Syreeta also made vocal contributions to two albums by American jazz saxophonist Gary Bartz - Juju Man (1976) and Music Is My Sanctuary (1977). In 1977, she teamed up again with G.C. Cameron on the duet album, Rich Love, Poor Love.

Wright's next effort came courtesy of a chance meeting with Billy Preston, who had signed with Motown in early 1979. Motown assigned the two to collaborate on a pop ballad for the movie Fast Break. The success of the song led Motown to renew Wright's contract, which was due to expire that year, with neither side looking to renegotiate. Wright and Preston continued their collaborations until the early 1980s including the 1981 duet album, Billy Preston & Syreeta.

Wright still worked with Wonder during this period singing the lead vocals for their composition "Come Back as a Flower" for Wonder's 1979 album Journey through the Secret Life of Plants and also sung alongside Wonder on his 1980 song "As If You Read My Mind" for his Hotter than July album. Wright continued to provide background vocals until Wonder's 1995 album Conversation Peace.

Wright continued to record for Motown into the 1980s, releasing her second self-titled album in 1980, and the funk/boogie-oriented Set My Love in Motion in late 1981. She stayed in the cast until 1995. In 1997, she guested on British soul singer Omar's album, This Is Not a Love Song, singing the duet "Lullaby".

Personal life and death

Wright was married three times and had four children. Wright married Curtis Robertson, with whom she had two children, Jamal (b. 1976) and Hodari (b. 1979). She eventually settled in Los Angeles, where she lived for the rest of her life.

Wright died in 2004 of congestive heart failure, a side effect of chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments she was receiving for breast and bone cancer. She is buried in Inglewood Park Cemetery.

Discography

Studio albums

{| class="wikitable"

! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Year

! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Title

! scope="col" colspan="3"| Peak positions

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;" | US

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;" | US R&B

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;" | US R&B

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;" | UK

| style="text-align:center;"|1968

| "I Can't Give Back the Love I Feel for You"

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| style="text-align:center;" rowspan=2|1972

| "To Know You Is to Love You"

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| rowspan="2"|Syreeta

| "I Love Every Little Thing About You"

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| style="text-align:center;" rowspan=3|1974

| "Come and Get This Stuff"

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| rowspan="4"|Stevie Wonder Presents: Syreeta

| "I'm Goin' Left"

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| "Spinnin' and Spinnin'"

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| style="text-align:center;"|49

| style="text-align:center;" rowspan=3|1975

| "Your Kiss Is Sweet"

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| style="text-align:center;"|12

| "Harmour Love"

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| style="text-align:center;"|75

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| style="text-align:center;"|32

| rowspan="2"|One to One

| "One to One"

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| style="text-align:center;" rowspan=1|1977

| "Let's Make a Deal" (with G.C. Cameron)

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| Rich Love, Poor Love

| style="text-align:center;" rowspan=3|1979

| "With You I'm Born Again" (with Billy Preston)

| style="text-align:center;"|4

| style="text-align:center;"|86

| style="text-align:center;"|21

| style="text-align:center;"|2

BPI: Silver

| rowspan="3"|Music from the Motion Picture "Fast Break"

| "Go for It" (with Billy Preston)

| style="text-align:center;"|108

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| "More Than Just a Friend" (with Billy Preston)

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| style="text-align:center;" rowspan=5|1980

| "It Will Come in Time" (with Billy Preston)

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| style="text-align:center;"|47

|Late at Night

| "One More Time for Love" (with Billy Preston)

| style="text-align:center;"|52

| style="text-align:center;"|72

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| rowspan="4"|Syreeta

| "He's Gone"

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| "Love Fire"

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| "Let Me Be the One You Need"

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| style="text-align:center;" rowspan=9|1981

| "A New Way to Say I Love You" (with Billy Preston)

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| rowspan="5"|Billy Preston & Syreeta

| "Searchin'" (with Billy Preston)

| style="text-align:center;"|106

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| "Just For You" (with Billy Preston)

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| "Someone Special" (with Billy Preston)

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| "Love" (with Billy Preston)

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| "You Set My Love in Motion"

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| rowspan="5"|Set My Love in Motion

| "Can't Shake Your Love"

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| "I Must Be in Love"

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| "Move It, Do It"

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| style="text-align:center;" rowspan=1|1982

| "Quick Slick"

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| style="text-align:center;"|41

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| style="text-align:center;" rowspan=1|1983

| "Forever is Not Enough"

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| The Spell

| style="text-align:center;" rowspan=1|1989

| "If the Shoe Fits"

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| rowspan="2"|With You I'm Born Again

| style="text-align:center;" rowspan=1|1991

| "Watching the Hands of Time" (with Billy Preston)

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| colspan="8" style="text-align:center; font-size:9pt;"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Other appearances

With Gary Bartz

Ju Ju Man (Catalyst Records, 1976)

With Gary Bartz

Music Is My Sanctuary (Capitol Records, 1977)

With Donald Byrd

Thank You...For F.U.M.L. (Funking Up My Life) (Elektra, 1978)

References

External links

Syreeta on Motownlegends.fr