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Soul and Blues Festival

Betty Wright, Bobby “Blue” Bland and Willie Clayton headline a mega-jam

A A A Comments By Olivia Flores Alvarez Thursday, Jul 31 2008

The Soul and Blues Festival features Betty Wright, Bobby “Blue” Bland and Willie Clayton — need we say more? Well, we’re going to anyway. Wright released her first album when she was only 15 years old, but it was a few years before she scored a hit with “Clean Up Woman,” a song about a woman who neglects her man. The song continues to influence women soul singers — it was recently sampled on a remix of Mary J. Blige’s “Real Love.”

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A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the winner of a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, Bobby “Blue” Bland has strong Houston ties; he recorded on the Duke label here in the 1950s and ‘60s. Like Betty Wright’s, his music continues to be influential; his song “Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City” was covered by the Whitesnake and was later sampled by Jay-Z in 2001.

Along with Willie Clayton, Wright and Bland shaped soul music in its early years. Today’s concert should feature dozens of well-done golden oldies. 7:30 p.m. Arena Theatre, 7326 Southwest Freeway. For information, call 713-772-5900 or visit www.arenahouston.com. $39 to $55.
Sat., Aug. 2, 7:30 p.m., 2008

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