Deborah C. Wright (June 18, 1951 – October 12, 2017) was an American funk vocalist, best known for her role in the vocal sound of

Parliament-Funkadelic Parliament-Funkadelic (abbreviated as P-Funk) is an American musical collective, music collective of rotating musicians headed by George Clinton (funk musician), George Clinton, primarily consisting of the funk bands Parliament (band), Parliame ...

during the 1970s and as a founding member of

Parlet Parlet was a female spinoff group from P-Funk formed by veteran background vocalists Mallia Franklin, Jeanette Washington and Debbie Wright. Washington and Wright were the first female members in Parliament-Funkadelic Parliament-Funkadel ...

, the first all-female

P-Funk Parliament-Funkadelic (abbreviated as P-Funk) is an American musical collective, music collective of rotating musicians headed by George Clinton (funk musician), George Clinton, primarily consisting of the funk bands Parliament (band), Parliame ...

spin-off group. Her work contributed to the collective's signature harmonies and stage performances.

Biography

Deborah C. Wright was born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. She began her career in the late sixties as a session singer for

The Parliaments The Parliaments were an American vocal quintet from Plainfield, New Jersey, United States. Originally formed in the back room of a barbershop in 1956, the quintet was named after the cigarette brand. The Parliaments initially performed doo-wo ...

. Building on her early studio work, Wright—alongside

Jeanette Washington Jeanette Washington is a funk vocalist best known as a member of the band Parliament. Washington appeared as a background singer on recordings by James Brown in 1975. That year, she joined Parliament with Debbie Wright, becoming the first femal ...

—became one of the first official female members of

. Throughout the mid-1970s, Wright contributed backing vocals to several

Parliament (band) Parliament was an American funk band formed in 1968 by George Clinton as a flagship act of his P-Funk collective. Evolving out of an earlier vocal group, Parliament became associated with a more commercial and less rock-oriented sound than i ...

and

Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. As one of the two flagship groups of George Clinton's P-Funk collective, they helped pioneer the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, ...

albums, including ''

Mothership Connection ''Mothership Connection'' is the fourth album by American funk band Parliament, released on December 15, 1975, on Casablanca Records. This concept album is often rated among the best Parliament-Funkadelic releases, and was the first to feature ho ...

'' (1975), ''

The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein ''The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein'' is the fifth album by funk band Parliament (band), Parliament, released on July 20, 1976. The album is notable for featuring horn arrangements by ex-James Brown band member Fred Wesley. The album charted at No. 3 ...

'' (1976), and ''

One Nation Under a Groove ''One Nation Under a Groove'' is the tenth studio album by American funk rock band Funkadelic, released on September 22, 1978, on Warner Bros. Records. Recording sessions took place at United Sound Studio in Detroit, with one song recorded live ...

'' (1978). She was also part of the P-Funk Earth Tour, appearing on the live album '' Live: P-Funk Earth Tour'' (1977). By 1978, George Clinton sought to showcase his female background singers in their own acts. That year, he formed

, a P-Funk spinoff trio composed of Wright, Franklin, and Washington. The group released their debut album, '' Pleasure Principle'', on

Casablanca Records Casablanca Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Republic Records. Under its founder Neil Bogart, Casablanca was most successful during the disco era of the mid to late 1970s. The label focuses ...

that same year, featuring Wright on lead and background vocals. Shortly after the album's release, Wright left the group due to health reasons and was replaced by Shirley Hayden. Though her time in Parlet was brief, Wright’s vocals and presence helped set the tone for the group’s distinct style. Debbie Wright died on October 12, 2017, in Detroit, Michigan. Her contributions to Parliament-Funkadelic and Parlet are considered essential to the evolution of the P-Funk sound and legacy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Debbie 1951 births 2017 deaths American funk singers