Edna Wright is best-known for the four years she spent as the lead singer of the female vocal trio
Honey Cone, 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, and 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. 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
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 -- 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. ~ Alex Henderson