Wendy & Bonnie

The sibling act Wendy & Bonnie consisted of Wendy Flower and Bonnie Flower, who performed under their actual names rather than adopting stage aliases. In the closing years of the 1960s the pair produced a single LP titled Genesis, a gently melodic set of harmonized light rock that blended psychedelic, jazz, and folk elements. The results proved striking for musicians so young: Wendy was seventeen and Bonnie only thirteen when the sessions took place in late 1968, and the sisters themselves composed every track on the album.

Raised in a household steeped in music in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Flowers had earlier cut a pair of garage-psych singles while members of Crystal Fountain, with Wendy handling lead vocals and Bonnie on drums. Jazz vibraphonist Cal Tjader brought the duo to the notice of Skye, the jazz imprint for which he recorded, prompting the label to issue its only rock project in the form of the Wendy & Bonnie album. Although the production remained lean, the arrangements emphasized the sisters’ vocal blend and introspective, paisley-patterned songs while drawing on elite Los Angeles session support from drummer Jim Keltner and guitarist Larry Carlton.

Genesis appeared in 1969 yet found its momentum halted when Skye ceased operations the next year; the 1971 death of producer Gary McFarland added to the setback. The duo contributed background vocals to a pair of Tjader releases as well as jingles and session work at Fantasy Records, but they never again tracked original material under their own name and disbanded in the early 1970s. Both sisters continued making music independently in later years, Wendy releasing a children’s cassette and Bonnie turning down an offer to join the Bangles. Sundazed brought the long-unavailable Genesis back into print with added tracks in 2001.