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'{{Short description|American songwriter (1939–2022)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2022}} {{Infobox musical artist | image = | caption = | image_size = | birth_name = | alias = | birth_date = {{Birth year|1939}} | birth_place = [[Memphis, Tennessee]], U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and given age|2022|10|20|83}} | death_place = [[Nashville, Tennessee]], U.S. | origin = | instrument = | genre = [[Memphis soul]] | occupation = Singer, songwriter | years_active = | label = [[Stax Records|Stax]] | associated_acts = | website = }} '''Bettye Jean Crutcher''' (1939 – October 20, 2022) was an American songwriter. She was a staff writer for [[Stax Records]].<ref name=tennessee>Peter Barker, [https://localtoday.news/tn/bettye-crutcher-stax-records-contributor-and-pioneering-songwriter-dies-at-83-54605.html "Bettye Crutcher, Stax Records contributor and pioneering songwriter, dies at 83"], ''Tennessee News'', October 21, 2022]. Retrieved October 21, 2022.</ref> Crutcher teamed with [[Homer Banks]] and [[Raymond Jackson (songwriter)|Raymond Jackson]] as "We Three", and co-wrote "[[Who's Making Love]]" for [[Johnnie Taylor]], which earned a nomination for the [[Grammy Award for Best R&B Song]]. Crutcher also wrote music for [[the Staple Singers]], [[Sam & Dave]], and [[Albert King]]. ==Early life and career== Crutcher was born in [[Memphis, Tennessee]] in 1939, and started writing poems as a child. She became a nurse and was a single parent of three children when she applied to work for various [[record label]]s. After being rejected by other labels, she joined [[Stax Records]] as a songwriter in 1967, becoming their only female staffer.<ref name="obit">{{Cite web |title=Stax songwriter Bettye Crutcher remembered for her energy, creativity and perspective |first=Bob|last=Mehr|url=https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/entertainment/music/2022/10/20/bettye-crutcher-stax-records-songwriter-dies/5330509002/ |date=October 20, 2022|access-date=October 21, 2022 |work=The Commercial Appeal |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2019, she said: "Being the only female songwriter for Stax was quite an event [...] They talk about the sexist '60s, and I really think the guys didn't think the girls could do that."<ref name=tennessee/> At Stax Records, Crutcher teamed with [[Homer Banks]] and [[Raymond Jackson (songwriter)|Raymond Jackson]] as the songwriting trio "We Three". In their first year together, their work accounted for $6&nbsp;million in sales (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|6000000|1970}}}} in current dollar terms).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stax Songwriting Team Accounts For Millions|work=The Pittsburgh Courier |date=16 May 1970|page=13 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111827223/stax-songwriting-team-accounts-for/ |access-date=October 21, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com |language=en}}</ref> Crutcher wrote "Somebody's Sleeping in My Bed" for [[Johnnie Taylor]], which made the R&B [[Top 40]] in 1967. "We Three" wrote "[[Who's Making Love]]" for Taylor, which was a Top 5 hit in 1968 and was nominated for [[Grammy Award for Best R&B Song|Best R&B Song]] at the [[1969 Grammy Awards]].<ref name=obit/> In 1974, Crutcher recorded an album of her own, titled ''Long as You Love Me''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stax Songwriter to Speak at Quest Center on Saturday|work=The Dickson Herald |date=3 Apr 2015|page=A6 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111854414/stax-songwriter-to-speak-at-quest/|access-date=October 21, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com |language=en}}</ref> She recorded the album with the [[Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section]] and the [[Memphis Symphony Orchestra]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/250527933/?terms=%22bettye%20crutcher%22%20%22Muscle%20Shoals%22&match=1|title=The wax works|first=Jack|last=Burke|work=The Daily Journal|location=Stevens Point, Wisconsin|page=14|date=March 10, 1975|accessdate=October 23, 2022|url-access=subscription}}</ref> and co-produced the album with [[Mack Rice]]. Crutcher and Rice also wrote the soundtrack for ''[[The Klansman]]'' in 1974.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111827086/hollywood-beckons-another-stax-vip/|title=Hollywood Beckons Another Stax VIP|first=Mary Ann|last=Lee|work=The Memphis Press-Scimitar |date=July 12, 1974|page=3|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=October 22, 2022}}</ref> In addition, Crutcher wrote music with [[Marvell Thomas]] and [[Bobby Manuel]]. She wrote "The Ghetto", "We'll Get Over", and "The Challenge" for [[the Staple Singers]], and recommended that "[[Respect Yourself]]" by Rice and [[Luther Ingram]] would work well for the group.<ref name=obit/> Crutcher also wrote "I Like What You're Doing to Me" for [[Carla Thomas]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111827142/composers-tell-dos-donts-of/|title=Composers Tell Do's, Don'ts of Songwriting|first=Mary Ann|last=Lee|work=The Memphis Press-Scimitar|page=17|date=March 2, 1973|accessdate=October 23, 2022}}</ref> as well as songs for [[Sam & Dave]], [[Ann Peebles]], [[Otis Clay]], and [[Albert King]]. Her songs were covered by [[Joan Baez]], [[Buddy Guy]], [[Paul Weller]], and [[Sammy Davis Jr.]], and sampled by the [[Wu-Tang Clan]], [[Sean Combs|Diddy]], and [[Mary J. Blige]].<ref name=obit/> ==Later life== After Stax went out of business, Crutcher worked in antiques and made jewelry. She moved to [[Nashville, Tennessee]], in the 1980s and wrote songs for [[B.B. King]] and [[Bobby Bland]].<ref name=obit/> Crutcher died in Nashville on October 20, 2022, at the age of 83.<ref name=tennessee/><ref name=obit/> ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== * {{discogs artist|Bettye Crutcher}} * {{imdb name|0190165}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Crutcher, Bettye}} [[Category:1939 births]] [[Category:2022 deaths]] [[Category:American nurses]] [[Category:American songwriters]] [[Category:Musicians from Memphis, Tennessee]] [[Category:Musicians from Nashville, Tennessee]]'