“I’m nervous, and I’m trembling…… I’m trying hard to relax but I just can’t keep still.”
Betty Wright is a soul and R&B singer-songwriter, who gained fame in the 1970s. A pioneering artist and entrepreneur, she remains one of the few black female musicians to produce a gold record on her own label. She is also adept at using the whistle register. “Tonight Is the Night” was her most successful record off her Danger! High Voltage! album. Wright attributed the hit to her first sexual experiences.
The original version peaked at No. 28 on the R&B chart. Four years later she released a “live” version of the song. The remodeled version, which included a now-famous monologue and portions of Wright’s 1970 hit, “Pure Love,” peaked at No. 11 on the R&B chart in 1978. “Tonight Is the Night” has been sampled by many artists including Color Me Badd and DJ Quik.
Enjoy a performance version of the hit above and the original live version below:
LEGEND!