Happy Birthday to the late, great Syreeta Wright, born August 3, 1946.
Before her untimely death in 2004, Syreeta Wright had established a career as a singer with a golden voice. While she first came to the attention of music fans for her marriage to and collaboration with Stevie Wonder, Syreeta was a dynamic artist in her own right, as she showed on her several albums, including her very successful collaborations with Billy Preston.
The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania born, Detroit-raised singer began as a receptionist at Motown's Detroit office, and was discovered by hit songwriting team Holland-Dozier-Holland singing around the building. They began writing for her, and she also performed on demos of their songs intended for other artists, and on background for multiple acts. Soon she was dating labelmate Stevie Wonder and began writing with him.
Happy Birthday to the late, great Syreeta Wright, born August 3, 1946.
Before her untimely death in 2004, Syreeta Wright had established a career as a singer with a golden voice. While she first came to the attention of music fans for her marriage to and collaboration with Stevie Wonder, Syreeta was a dynamic artist in her own right, as she showed on her several albums, including her very successful collaborations with Billy Preston.
The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania born, Detroit-raised singer began as a receptionist at Motown's Detroit office, and was discovered by hit songwriting team Holland-Dozier-Holland singing around the building. They began writing for her, and she also performed on demos of their songs intended for other artists, and on background for multiple acts. Soon she was dating labelmate Stevie Wonder and began writing with him.
Wright recorded a trio of albums for Motown, but never quite reached the top. Then, she was paired with veteran singer and keyboardist Billy Preston for a ballad from the movie Fast Break. "With You I'm Born Again" was an across-the-board smash, and ultimately led to a full album of duets with Preston.
Over the years, Wright continued to write for others with great success and to record from time to time. Sadly, she died of congestive heart failure in 2004 after a long battle with cancer. But she left a strong legacy as a singer and songwriter that continues to this day.
By Chris Rizik