The third part of the saga of the Greg Perry/Jeff perry Family is today
focusing on Gregs Wife Edna Wright(AKA Sandy Wynns). She is best-known
for the four years she spent as the lead singer of the female vocal trio
Honey Cone that she formed, but the Los Angeles native had a long
resume before forming that well-known group and remained active in music
long after Honey Cone's breakup. Born in L.A. in 1944, Wright was the
younger sister of vocalist Darlene Love (who is known for her years with
Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans, a group that had some hits in the
early '60s). Like Love, Wright was a member of an L.A.-based vocal group
called the Blossoms,& a Brief sting with the Elites who recorded
out of Gold Star.Like Love, Wright had some gospel credentials but ended
up making secular R&B her main focus. In the '60s, Wright (who had a
Christian upbringing and sang in church when she was growing up)
performed gospel with the Church of God in Christ Singers; most of her
work, however, has been secular. In her pre-Honey Cone days, Wright sang
backup for various artists, including Ray Charles and the Righteous
Brothers. And she also did some recording as a solo artist in the '60s;
using the pseudonym Sandy Wynns, Wright recorded a solo single, titled
"A Touch of Venus," for the Champion label & a few more 45,s. The
tune wasn't well-known nationally, although it did become a small
regional hit in Southern California,& was picked up by UK Northern
Soul Jocks and went Huge on the dancefloors and demand for the 45. It
was in 1969 that Wright's best-known gig got underway; that year, she
formed Honey Cone and hired Shellie Clark (born in 1943 in Brooklyn, New
York) and Carolyn Willis (born in 1946 in Los Angeles, California).
Clark and Willis both had noteworthy resumés; Clark was a former member
of Ike & Tina Turner's female backup singers the Ikettes, while
Willis like Wright's sister Darlene Love,had been with Bob B. Soxx &
the Blue Jeans. Honey Cone had only been together a few months when, in
1969, the group caught the attention of producer/songwriter Eddie
Holland (who, along with Lamont Dozier and brother Brian Holland, was
part of the famous Motor City production/songwriting team known as
Holland-Dozier-Holland). Lucky for Honey Cone, Holland-Dozier-Holland
had recently left Motown where they had provided major hits for the Four
Tops, the Supremes, the Miracles, Marvin Gaye, the Isley Brothers, and
other well-known artists, and were starting a new Detroit-based outfit
called Hot Wax/Invictus. They envisioned Hot Wax and Invictus as sister
labels, much like Stax and Volt in Memphis. Modeling their company after
Berry Gordy's Motown empire, Holland-Dozier-Holland wanted a lot of
Motown-minded, Detroit-sounding artists and Honey Cone whose blend of
sweetness and grit was heavily influenced by female Motown acts like
Martha & the Vandellas and the Marvelettes tended to fit right in.
Honey Cone became Hot Wax's first signing and the threesome's debut
single, "While You're Out Looking for Sugar," was Hot Wax's first
release. That single wasn't a huge mega-smash, although it made it to
number 26 on Billboard's R&B singles chart and number 62 on the
weekly publication's pop singles chart. But the Honey Cone singles that
soon followed did a lot better. The group's next single, "Girls, It
Ain't Easy," became a number eight R&B hit in 1969, and in 1971,
Honey Cone enjoyed their biggest hit of all when "Want Ads" (which
dance-pop/urban/adult contemporary star Taylor Dayne covered in 1988)
soared to number one on both the R&B and pop charts. Other major
hits followed, including "Stick Up" (a number one R&B/number 11 pop
hit), "The Day I Found Myself" (a ballad), and the Latin-influenced "One
Monkey Don't Stop No Show" (which reached number five on Billboard's
R&B singles chart and number 15 on its pop singles chart). But as
big as Honey Cone was from 1969 to 1972, things slowed down considerably
for the trio in 1973. None of the Honey Cone singles that Hot Wax put
out in 1973 were big hits, and sadly, Holland-Dozier-Holland's label was
hurting financially. Despite having a commercially successful roster of
artists, not only Honey Cone but also Freda Payne, the Chairmen of the
Board, 100 Proof (Aged in Soul), and Laura Lee. Hot Wax/Invictus was
experiencing a devastating cash flow problem. Allegedly, the company was
having a hard time getting paid by its independent distributors.
Discouraged by its lack of sales in 1973, Honey Cone broke up that year,
and the following year, Hot Wax/Invictus went out of business. Honey
Cone's demise meant that Wright was free to pursue a solo career and in
1976, her first solo LP, Oops! Here I Go Again, was released by RCA. The
record wasn't a huge seller, although it has enjoyed cult status in
England, in fact, the long out of print Oops! Here I Go Again is still a
hot item among Brits who are into collecting '70s soul vinyl. After
that LP, Wright didn't record a lot of solo albums but provided
background vocals for a variety of major rock, R&B, and gospel
artists, including Kim Carnes, U2, and Andrae Crouch in the '80s and
Maria McKee (of Lone Justice fame) and fellow soul veteran Aaron Neville
in the '90s. Edna Wright died after a heart attack on September 12,
2020; she was 76 years old.
info
AMM
A COUPLE OF TASTERS BELOW AS EDNA & SANDY!
ALBUM AND BONUS TRACKS BELOW(FLAC)
Sandy Wynns Bonus Tracks(mp3)
08 - A Lover's Quarrel - Champion 1964
09 - Love Belongs to Everyone - Champion 1964
10 - The Touch Of Venus - Champion 1964
11 - Yes I Really Love You - Champion 1964
12 - The Elites - Sir Galahad - Era 1965
13 - I'll Give That To You - Simco 1966
14 - How Can Something Be So Wrong(And Always Feel So Good) - Canterbury 1967
15 - Love's Like Quicksand - Canterbury 1967
16 - Arthur & Mary - Is That You - Modern 1967
17 - Arthur And Mary - Let's Get Together - Modern 1967
Arthur Adams & Sandy Wynns=Arthur & Mary
18 comments:
The bonus tracks are very interesting
Gracias I would like to checkout this review
Thanks for this review. Some great bonus tracks.
Great bonus tracks! Thanks for review, P.
Thank you and she did have a great voice. I remember the Honey Combs. Again if you never told us, we would never know. Thank you once again and again.
an undiscovered gem by any yardstick
Looks good. Thanks AMM!
Thanks AMM for another go at this family story
This looks interesting... many thanks for the review AMM
BigD
Seems very good. Thanks for the review.
Great idea for a review-the whole dang family.
Thanks AMM,Always Appreciated
Thanks for the review, looks like an interesting album.
Very nice singer amm thanks for presenting her!
much interesting soul family review
thank you AMM!
really nice article AMM
thanks for sharing Reb
Great review All Music Man she been around a long time sadly passing to early certainly did the hard yards over the year without much appreciation of her great singing quantity's I do believe this is Greg Perry's missis Thanks Pedro
Great tasters MM, thanks for the review.
cheers, ELtel
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