Edna Wright

Edna Wright is best-known for the four years she spent as the lead singer of the female vocal trio <a href="spotify:artist:0CXNdUUhv5Cw42dr0wWrjd">Honey Cone</a>, but the Los Angeles native had a long resume before forming that well-known group and remained active in music long after <a href="spotify:artist:0CXNdUUhv5Cw42dr0wWrjd">Honey Cone</a>'s breakup. Born in L.A. in 1944, Wright was the younger sister of vocalist <a href="spotify:artist:391oLRVmoTkumiN79HkTWu">Darlene Love</a> (who is known for her years with <a href="spotify:artist:2ry5nwK1VNmh5zMZpmOAyc">Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans</a>, a group that had some hits in the early '60s). Like <a href="spotify:artist:391oLRVmoTkumiN79HkTWu">Love</a>, Wright was a member of an L.A.-based vocal group called <a href="spotify:artist:6kUfkNyDFX4tqzUwXp4FTL">the Blossoms</a>, and like <a href="spotify:artist:391oLRVmoTkumiN79HkTWu">Love</a>, 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-<a href="spotify:artist:0CXNdUUhv5Cw42dr0wWrjd">Honey Cone</a> days, Wright sang backup for various artists, including <a href="spotify:artist:1eYhYunlNJlDoQhtYBvPsi">Ray Charles</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:4b0WsB47XCa9F83BmwQ7WX">the Righteous Brothers</a>. 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 <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Champion%22">Champion</a> label. The tune wasn't well-known nationally, although it did become a small regional hit in Southern California. It was in 1969 that Wright's best-known gig got underway; that year, she formed <a href="spotify:artist:0CXNdUUhv5Cw42dr0wWrjd">Honey Cone</a> 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 <a href="spotify:artist:1ZikppG9dPedbIgMfnfx8k">Ike & Tina Turner</a>'s female backup singers <a href="spotify:artist:4vNCmeT4klWtM1xgF0oohu">the Ikettes</a>, while Willis -- like Wright's sister <a href="spotify:artist:391oLRVmoTkumiN79HkTWu">Darlene Love</a> -- had been with <a href="spotify:artist:2ry5nwK1VNmh5zMZpmOAyc">Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans</a>. <a href="spotify:artist:0CXNdUUhv5Cw42dr0wWrjd">Honey Cone</a> had only been together a few months when, in 1969, the group caught the attention of producer/songwriter <a href="spotify:artist:2BgyJtxoixkegtJX6HqT4w">Eddie Holland</a> (who, along with <a href="spotify:artist:6Dpx8fRtNa9CEORHIiBQTG">Lamont Dozier</a> and brother Brian Holland, was part of the famous Motor City production/songwriting team known as <a href="spotify:artist:3ig4Yf8S2Bjq2yVsiayKM0">Holland-Dozier-Holland</a>). Lucky for <a href="spotify:artist:0CXNdUUhv5Cw42dr0wWrjd">Honey Cone</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3ig4Yf8S2Bjq2yVsiayKM0">Holland-Dozier-Holland</a> had recently left <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Motown%22">Motown</a> -- where they had provided major hits for <a href="spotify:artist:7fIvjotigTGWqjIz6EP1i4">the Four Tops</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:57bUPid8xztkieZfS7OlEV">the Supremes</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6TqQLejnHXMGr7KcegxUND">the Miracles</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3koiLjNrgRTNbOwViDipeA">Marvin Gaye</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:53QzNeFpzAaXYnrDBbDrIp">the Isley Brothers</a>, 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 <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Stax%22">Stax</a> and <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Volt%22">Volt</a> in Memphis. Modeling their company after <a href="spotify:artist:4xRLKAf96K6YdGDWjY6ra8">Berry Gordy</a>'s <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Motown%22">Motown</a> empire, <a href="spotify:artist:3ig4Yf8S2Bjq2yVsiayKM0">Holland-Dozier-Holland</a> wanted a lot of <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Motown%22">Motown</a>-minded, Detroit-sounding artists and <a href="spotify:artist:0CXNdUUhv5Cw42dr0wWrjd">Honey Cone</a> -- whose blend of sweetness and grit was heavily influenced by female <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Motown%22">Motown</a> acts like <a href="spotify:artist:1Pe5hlKMCTULjosqZ6KanP">Martha & the Vandellas</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:0MponVSpW81oLvJZ53vYZH">the Marvelettes</a> -- fit right in. <a href="spotify:artist:0CXNdUUhv5Cw42dr0wWrjd">Honey Cone</a> 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 <a href="spotify:artist:0CXNdUUhv5Cw42dr0wWrjd">Honey Cone</a> 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, <a href="spotify:artist:0CXNdUUhv5Cw42dr0wWrjd">Honey Cone</a> enjoyed their biggest hit of all when "Want Ads" (which dance-pop/urban/adult contemporary star <a href="spotify:artist:32lVGr0fSRGT6okLKHiP68">Taylor Dayne</a> 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 <a href="spotify:artist:0CXNdUUhv5Cw42dr0wWrjd">Honey Cone</a> was from 1969 to 1972, things slowed down considerably for the trio in 1973. None of the <a href="spotify:artist:0CXNdUUhv5Cw42dr0wWrjd">Honey Cone</a> singles that Hot Wax put out in 1973 were big hits, and sadly, <a href="spotify:artist:3ig4Yf8S2Bjq2yVsiayKM0">Holland-Dozier-Holland</a>'s label was hurting financially. Despite having a commercially successful roster of artists -- not only <a href="spotify:artist:0CXNdUUhv5Cw42dr0wWrjd">Honey Cone</a> but also <a href="spotify:artist:0701Axu6yvUIoctaKMbDIZ">Freda Payne</a>, the <a href="spotify:artist:69g2TelswPN1IiFDKvaoSL">Chairmen of the Board</a>, 100 Proof (Aged in Soul), and <a href="spotify:artist:0ApoVi8QEh35twomSXh9TX">Laura Lee</a> -- 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, <a href="spotify:artist:0CXNdUUhv5Cw42dr0wWrjd">Honey Cone</a> broke up that year, and the following year, Hot Wax/Invictus went out of business. <a href="spotify:artist:0CXNdUUhv5Cw42dr0wWrjd">Honey Cone</a>'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 <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22RCA%22">RCA</a>. 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 <a href="spotify:artist:5PN2aHIvLEM98XIorsPMhE">Kim Carnes</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:51Blml2LZPmy7TTiAg47vQ">U2</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:3pxLSxg8klHu1L9d93cpq7">Andrae Crouch</a> in the '80s and <a href="spotify:artist:30GIF9g2UJ1ifn45kSMTFf">Maria McKee</a> (of <a href="spotify:artist:2OFpmma3V9yxT5XXgytGns">Lone Justice</a> fame) and fellow soul veteran <a href="spotify:artist:57ALvbCBaCkNlgTOSiUPdT">Aaron Neville</a> in the '90s. Edna Wright died after a heart attack on September 12, 2020; she was 76 years old. ~ Alex Henderson, Rovi