Norma Jean Wright

Both her own name and the alias Norma Jean served as recording vehicles for vocalist Norma Jean Wright, a distinction necessary to avoid confusion with the country artist of identical name. The Elyria, Ohio, native first rose to prominence as a member of Chic. Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, the group’s leaders, handled production on her debut single “Saturday,” issued in summer 1978. Rodgers and Edwards also produced her self-titled LP, which Bearsville Records released in July 1978. Later singles comprised a version of Sam Cooke’s “Having a Party” and the title track drawn from her subsequent album High Society, both appearing in late 1979. Additional recordings linked to Wright include Sister Sledge’s We Are Family [Rhino], Randy Crawford’s Abstract Emotions, Nick Scotti’s self-titled album, Nelson Rangell’s self-titled album, Madonna’s self-titled album, and Luther Vandross’s Never Too Much/Forever, for Always, for Love.