Edna Wright

Born in Los Angeles, California in 1944, soul and pop singer is best-known as the lead singer of soul trio Honey Cone, whose single “Want Ads” reached Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart 1970. You younger sister of singer Darlene Love, Edna Wright was already an industry veteran by the time Honey Cone formed in 1968. Her professional career began in 1964 when she provided lead vocals on the song “Yes Sir, That’s My Baby” by Hale and the Hushabyes (a studio project featuring Brian Wilson, Sonny & Cher, and Jackie DeShannon). Under the pseudonym Sandy Wynns, she released the single “The Touch of Venus”, which led to a few more singles and a nightclub tour. She became a busy session singer, providing vocals to recordings by the Righteous Brothers, Johnny Rivers and Ray Charles, who asked her to be one of his Raelettes. When her sister, Darlene Love, had to drop out of a scheduled appearance on Andy Williams’ TV show, Edna Wright stepped in and brought her friends Carolyn Willis and Shelly Clark. Their appearance impressed former Motown Records staff writer Eddie Holland, who signed them to the Hot Wax label, which was founded by Eddie and Brian Holland and their songwriting partner Lamont Dozier. Honey Cone released their first single, “While You’re Out Looking for Sugar”, in 1969. However, it wasn’t until 1971 until they landed their first hit with the chart topper “Want Ads”. The trio had more hits, but nothing as significant as “Want Ads”. When the labels Hot Wax and Invictus started having financial issues, Honey Cone split up and Edna Wright pursued a solo career. She released Oops! Here I Go Again, her only solo album, in 1977. She continued a career as a session singer, provided vocals on recordings by U2, Andraé Crouch, Aaron Neville, Kim Carnes, and others. Over the years, her work with Honey Cone was reassessed and the trio received many honors including the Heroes and Legends Award in Music (2017). Edna Wright died of a heart attack on September 24, 2017.

Please enable Javascript to view this page competely.