Biography
The vocal trio Honey Cone brought together Edna Wright, Carolyn Willis, and Shellie Clark. Although the lineup endured for only four years, the ensemble ranked among the strongest female soul acts of the early seventies. Lead singer Wright assembled the group in 1968; while Honey Cone operated from Los Angeles, its recordings embodied Northern soul, specifically the Detroit variety. Martha & the Vandellas and the Marvelettes supplied primary influences, and the singers, who balanced sweetness with grit, collaborated closely with former Motown producers and songwriters Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland. Each member already possessed substantial industry experience before that partnership. Willis, born in 1946 in Los Angeles, California, had belonged to Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans, whose sixties successes included “Why Do Lovers Break Each Other’s Heart?” and “Not Too Young to Get Married.” Clark, born in 1943 in Brooklyn, New York, had served as an Ikette, the female backup unit for Ike & Tina Turner. Wright, born in 1944 in Los Angeles, California, had performed with the Blossoms; her older sister, singer and actress Darlene Love, shared time in both Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans and the Blossoms while also maintaining a solo career. Wright herself issued solo sides during the sixties, among them the Champion single “A Touch of Venus,” credited under the pseudonym Sandy Wynns, which registered as a modest regional hit in Southern California. Raised in a Christian household, she had sung gospel with the Church of God in Christ Singers yet ultimately concentrated on secular R&B. Only months after forming, the trio attracted Eddie Holland’s notice in 1969; he supplied the name Honey Cone. The prolific Holland-Dozier-Holland team, having exited Motown, had launched the Detroit-based soul label Hot Wax/Invictus, and Honey Cone became its first signing. Their inaugural single, the 1969 release “While You’re Out Looking for Sugar,” also marked Hot Wax’s debut; the Motown-inflected track reached number twenty-six on Billboard’s R&B singles chart and number sixty-two on its pop chart. The follow-up, “Girls, It Ain’t Easy,” displayed comparable Motown styling and climbed to number eight on the R&B chart. Late in 1970 the infectious “Want Ads,” later covered by Taylor Dayne in 1988, ascended to number one on both Billboard’s R&B and pop singles charts after a slow start. In 1971 Honey Cone scored another R&B chart-topper with “Stick Up,” which peaked at number eleven on the pop side. Additional major hits arrived in 1972, including the ballad “The Day I Found Myself” and the Latin-tinged “One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show,” the latter a number-five R&B single and number-fifteen pop hit. By contrast, 1973 proved far less successful; none of the three Hot Wax singles—“If I Can’t Fly,” “The Truth Will Come Out,” and “Ace in the Hole”—achieved significant chart traction. Although the label had enjoyed commercial success with releases by Freda Payne, 100 Proof Aged in Soul, Laura Lee, and the Chairmen of the Board, Hot Wax/Invictus encountered severe cash-flow problems that year, reportedly because independent distributors failed to remit payments. Honey Cone disbanded in 1973, and Hot Wax/Invictus folded the following year. Wright later recorded the solo album Oops! Here I Go Again for RCA in 1976. All five Honey Cone LPs—Honey Cone (1969), Take Me with You (1970), Sweet Replies and Soulful Tapestry (both 1971), and Love, Peace & Soul (1972)—went out of print when the label closed. Fantasy’s 1990 compilation Greatest Hits collected fourteen tracks, while Castle’s 2001 anthology Soulful Sugar contained forty-five selections. Founding member Edna Wright died on September 12, 2020, at age seventy-six after suffering a heart attack.