4 Non Blondes#Career
{{Short description|American rock band}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = 4 Non Blondes
| image = Linda Perry - Flickr - nick step (1).jpg
| image_size = 220px
| caption = 4 Non Blondes' founder and lead singer, Linda Perry, in 2010
| alias =
| origin = San Francisco, California, U.S.
| genre = Alternative rock
| years_active = {{flatlist|
- 1989–1994 • 2014 • 2025
}}
| label = {{flatlist|
}}
| website =
| current_members =
| past_members =
- Wanda Day
- Shaunna Hall
- Christa Hillhouse
- Linda Perry
- Dawn Richardson
- Roger Rocha
- James Mankey
- Louis Metoyer
}}
4 Non Blondes was an American rock band from San Francisco,{{Cite book |last=Strong |first=Martin |title=The Great Rock Discography |publisher=Mojo Books |year=2000 |isbn=1-84195-017-3 |edition=5th |location=Edinburgh |page=355}} active from 1989 to 1994.{{Cite encyclopedia |last=Larkin |first=Colin |title=4 Non Blondes |date=2009 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195313734.001.0001/acref-9780195313734-e-62502 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Popular Music |editor-last=Larkin |editor-first=Colin |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en |doi=10.1093/acref/9780195313734.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-19-531373-4 |access-date=March 10, 2020|url-access=subscription }} Their only album, Bigger, Better, Faster, More!, spent 59 weeks on the Billboard 200 and sold 1.5 million copies between 1992 and 1994.{{Cite magazine |last=Halperin |first=Shirley |date=July 26, 2015 |title=Linda Perry's Breaking Point |magazine=Billboard |volume=126 |issue=23 |pages=48–51 }} They hit the charts in 1993 with the release of the album's second single, "What's Up?"
Originally, the band was all-female, with vocalist Linda Perry, bassist Christa Hillhouse, guitarist Shaunna Hall, and drummer Wanda Day.{{Cite news |last=Hunt |first=Dennis |date=September 30, 1993 |title=4 Non Blondes; Color them unpredictable |work=Hamilton Spectator}} However, before their album was released, Dawn Richardson replaced Day on drums, and Roger Rocha replaced Hall on guitar.
Perry left the band in 1994, and the remaining members disbanded shortly afterward.
Career
=Formation=
Bassist Christa Hillhouse and guitarist Shaunna Hall had been roommates and met drummer Wanda Day when they joined a band she was playing in. When the three left that band, they started playing as a trio, but after seeing Perry sing at a solo performance, Hillhouse and Hall asked her to join as vocalist.
According to Perry, she and Hall were at Nightbreak, a San Francisco club, and when it was mentioned the trio was looking for a vocalist, Perry announced she was a singer, to which Hall replied, "I know". Their first rehearsal was supposed to be at 6:10 pm on October 17, 1989, but shortly after 5:00 pm the Loma Prieta earthquake hit the San Francisco area.{{Cite news |last=Indiana |first=Gary |date=July–August 1991 |title=4 Non Blondes Interview |work=Flipside}}{{Cite magazine |date=October 30, 1989 |last1=Griggs |first1=Lee |last2=Wyss |first2=Dennis |last3=Reingold |first3=Edwin M. |last4=Willwerth |first4=James |title=Earthquake |magazine=Time |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,958883-1,00.html |url-status=dead |access-date=November 13, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081224084935/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C958883-1%2C00.html |archive-date=December 24, 2008}}
The name of the band came from an experience the group had in the Bay Area with a blonde family. According to Christa Hillhouse, "Right next to us, there's a trash receptacle with a piece of pizza on top and the kid wanted to pick it up. The mom said, 'No, it's probably dirty, what with the pigeons and people.' And she stared right at us. We were Non Blondes."{{Cite news |last=Martin |first=Louise |date=September 24, 1993 |title=Mane of the game is success |work=The Age}} They said the experience became a symbol that they did not fit the California stereotype.
=''Bigger, Better, Faster, More!''=
They got their start in the San Francisco bar scene, especially lesbian bars, gaining a significant lesbian following.{{Cite magazine |last=Bono |first=Chastity |date=September 15, 1995 |title=Linda Perry: The lesbian singer of 4 Non Blondes goes solo with a bold and honest album |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hmQEAAAAMBAJ&q=Linda+Perry%3A+The+lesbian+singer+of+4+Non+Blondes+goes+solo+with+a+bold+and+honest+album&pg=PA37 |magazine=The Advocate |volume=609 |pages=37–40}}{{Cite magazine |last=Walters |first=Barry |date=September 17, 1996 |title=Nonblonde ambition |magazine=The Advocate |volume=716 |pages=81–82 |issn=0001-8996}} In July 1991, the band was signed to Interscope following a performance at the Gavin Convention, where they opened for Primus on Valentine's Day of the same year. As they began pre-production for their debut album, Day was fired and replaced by Dawn Richardson. In 1992, while recording Bigger, Better, Faster, More! the album's producer, David Tickle, felt that Hall's guitar playing was "not happening" so she was let go from the band as well.{{Cite news |last=Chun |first=Kimberly |title=Noise: Miss understood |work=San Francisco Bay Guardian |url=http://www.sfbg.com/40/01/noise_miss_understood.html |url-status=dead |access-date=November 13, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121028192212/http://www.sfbg.com/40/01/noise_miss_understood.html |archive-date=October 28, 2012}} Guitarist Louis Metoyer finished the record.
The album and its song "What's Up?" was released as the album's second single in 1993. It was successful in the United States{{Cite web |title=Linda Perry interview |url=http://gc.guitarcenter.com/interview/linda-perry/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303235058/http://gc.guitarcenter.com/interview/linda-perry/ |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |access-date=February 12, 2012 |website=Guitar Center}} and in several European countries, peaking at number one in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, and Switzerland.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}
Roger Rocha joined after completion of the album and stayed with the band until 1994.
Openly lesbian lead singer Perry often performed with a prominent "dyke" sticker affixed to her guitar, including at the Billboard Music Awards in 1993{{Cite magazine |last1=Portwood |first1=Jerry |last2=Freeman |first2=Jon |last3=Spanos |first3=Brittany |last4=Exposito |first4=Suzy |last5=Lambe |first5=Stacy |last6=Camp |first6=Zoe |last7=Borton |first7=Marcus |last8=Shorey |first8=Eric |date=June 1, 2019 |title=Music's Unsung LGBTQ Heroes |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/musics-unsung-lgbtq-heroes-629374/ |access-date=August 24, 2021 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}} and on Late Night with David Letterman.{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=Carla |date=October 15, 2004 |title=Music Video |url=http://www.glbtq.com/arts/music_video.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070324165354/http://www.glbtq.com/arts/music_video.html |archive-date=March 24, 2007 |url-status=live |access-date=March 10, 2020 |website=glbtq: An Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Culture}}
4 Non Blondes contributed the song "Mary's House" to the film Wayne's World 2 in 1993.{{Cite magazine |date=December 11, 1993 |title=4 Non Blondes Triumph Following A 'Shaky' Start |magazine=Billboard}} They also covered Van Halen's "I'm the One" on the soundtrack for Airheads. They contributed "Bless the Beasts and Children" to a 1994 The Carpenters tribute album If I Were a Carpenter, and "Misty Mountain Hop" to the 1995 Encomium tribute album to Led Zeppelin.
=Split and aftermath=
The group disbanded in late 1994 during the recording of their second album. Perry has said that she had been unhappy with Bigger, Better, Faster, More! Perry was an out lesbian, but band members Hillhouse and Richardson were less comfortable being as open about their sexuality in the early 1990s, so this contributed some tension to the group.
Perry went solo in 1995. She has released solo work, and produced and written songs on albums by Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys, Pink, Gwen Stefani, Courtney Love, and Kelly Osbourne.{{Cite news |last=De La O |first=Maria |date=October 1, 2011 |title=What's up with Linda Perry: The lesbian rock legend shares her heartbreak with a new album |work=Curve}}
Hall has recorded, produced, composed for, and performed with various artists, including vocalist Storm Large (1999–2001), guitarist Eric McFadden (1995–2001), and funk pioneer George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic and released "Electrofunkadelica: e3+FUNKnth = music for the body, mind & soul", a self-produced project in 2006 on Make Music, Not War! Records.
After leaving the Non Blondes in 1991, Day continued drumming with Malibu Barbi, and then Bad Dog Play Dead. In late 1992, an accident crushed her legs and broke her back, which made drumming very painful. She moved out of San Francisco in 1995, spent some time in Arizona and eventually went back to Salt Lake City.{{Cite web |last=Hall |first=Shaunna |title=Life and Times of Wanda Day |url=http://loudithfaire.net/celebskin/shaunna_wandaday.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216141733/http://loudithfaire.net/celebskin/shaunna_wandaday.html |archive-date=December 16, 2008 |access-date=November 24, 2008 |website=Loudith Faire}} Day died on July 10, 1997, and is buried in Tropic, Utah.{{Cite web |title=Death: Wanda Marie Day |url= https://www.deseret.com/1997/7/13/19323879/death-wanda-marie-day|access-date=November 22, 2022 |website=Deseret News|date = July 12, 1997}}
Hillhouse maintains the official website for 4 Non Blondes.{{Cite web |last=Christa |first=Hillhouse |title=CHILLHOUSE MUSIC |url=http://www.fournonblondes.com/ |access-date=April 24, 2017 |website=Four Non Blondes}}
Perry and Hillhouse reunited in 1999 in support of Perry's solo tour.{{Cite web |last=Christa |first=Hillhouse |title=Linda Perry Tour 1999 |url=http://chillhousemedia.com/chillBlog/linda-perry-tour-1999/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170424173813/http://chillhousemedia.com/chillBlog/linda-perry-tour-1999/ |archive-date=April 24, 2017 |access-date=April 24, 2017 |website=Chillhouse Music}}
=Reunions=
On May 11, 2014, the group reunited to perform a concert at a fundraiser entitled "An Evening For Women: Celebrating Arts, Music and Equality" which was held at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles. Perry produces the annual event for the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center to raise money for the center. According to Perry, "the majority of the money goes to the youth center program, which is basically kids that get thrown out on the street by their own parents for being gay."{{Cite web |last=Jess |date=March 31, 2011 |title=Linda Perry Starts Pink's Party, Defends Christina Aguilera, Is Legendary |url=https://www.autostraddle.com/linda-perry-autostraddle-interview-830128/ |access-date=March 16, 2020 |website=Autostraddle}} The six songs on the track list were "Train", "Spaceman", "The Ladder", "Mighty Lady", "Superfly", and "What's Up?", and the fundraiser was organized by the Los Angeles LGBT Center.{{Cite web |last=Breihan |first=Tom |date=May 11, 2014 |title=Watch A Reunited 4 Non Blondes Play "What's Up" For The First Time In 20 Years |url=http://www.stereogum.com/1680952/watch-a-reunited-4-non-blondes-play-whats-up-for-the-first-time-in-20-years/video/ |access-date=May 12, 2014 |website=Stereogum |publisher=Spin Media}}
Dolly Parton and Linda Perry did a cover of the band's song "What's Up?" in 2023.{{Cite magazine |last=Grow |first=Kory |date=2023-09-22 |title=Dolly Parton and Linda Perry Climb That Great Big Hill of Hope in 4 Non Blondes' 'What's Up?' Cover |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/dolly-parton-linda-perry-whats-up-1234829543/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231127213521/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/dolly-parton-linda-perry-whats-up-1234829543/ |archive-date=November 27, 2023 |access-date=2024-03-14 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}
In January 2025, a reunion at BottleRock Napa Valley was announced.{{cite web | url=https://people.com/linda-perry-explains-how-4-non-blondes-reunion-came-to-be-after-30-years-8772874 | title=Linda Perry Explains How Upcoming 4 non Blondes Reunion Came to be After 30 Years: 'I've Told the Universe I Want This' }}
Members
- Linda Perry – lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1989–1994, 2014, 2025)
- Christa Hillhouse – bass, backing vocals (1989–1994, 2014, 2025)
- Shaunna Hall – lead guitar (1989–1992)
- Wanda Day – drums (1989–1991; died 1997)
- Dawn Richardson – drums (1991–1994, 2014, 2025)
- Louis Metoyer – lead guitar (1992)
- Roger Rocha – lead guitar, backing vocals (1992–1994, 2014, 2025)
- James Mankey – lead guitar (1994)
=Timeline=
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PlotArea = left:100 bottom:80 top:10 right:10
Alignbars = justify
DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
Period = from:17/10/1989 till:11/05/2014
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy
Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:3
ScaleMajor = increment:3 start:1990
ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1990
Colors =
id:voc value:red legend:Lead_vocals,_rhythm_guitar
id:g value:green legend:Lead_guitar,_backing_vocals
id:b value:blue legend:Bass,_backing_vocals
id:dr value:orange legend:Drums
id:alb value:black legend:Studio_album
id:bars value:gray(0.95)
BackgroundColors = bars:bars
LineData =
layer:back
color:alb
at:13/10/1992
PlotData =
width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,–4)
bar:Linda Perry from:start till:01/10/1994 color:voc
bar:Linda Perry from:01/05/2014 till:11/05/2014 color:voc
bar:Shaunna Hall from:start till:01/08/1992 color:g
bar:Louis Metoyer from:01/08/1992 till:13/10/1992 color:g
bar:Roger Rocha from:13/10/1992 till:01/02/1994 color:g
bar:Jim Mankey from:01/02/1994 till:01/06/1994 color:g
bar:Roger Rocha from:01/05/2014 till:11/05/2014 color:g
bar:Christa Hillhouse from:start till:01/10/1994 color:b
bar:Christa Hillhouse from:01/05/2014 till:11/05/2014 color:b
bar:Wanda Day from:start till:01/03/1992 color:dr
bar:Dawn Richardson from:01/03/1992 till:01/10/1994 color:dr
bar:Dawn Richardson from:01/05/2014 till:11/05/2014 color:dr
Discography
= Studio album {{anchor|Studio Album}} =
= Live album {{anchor|Live Album}} =
- Hello Mr. President (Live in Italy 1993) (1994)
=Singles=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+ List of singles, with selected chart positions ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:10em;"| Title ! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Year ! scope="col" colspan="10"| Peak chart positions ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:10em;"| Certifications ! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Album |
| scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| US {{Cite magazine |title=4 Non Blondes |url=http://www.billboard.com/artist/431940/4-non-blondes/chart |access-date=December 7, 2013 |magazine=Billboard}} ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| AUS ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| AUT ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| GER ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| NLD ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| NZ ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| NOR ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| SWE ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| SWI ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| UK |
|---|
| scope="row"| "Dear Mr. President"
| 1992 | — | — | — | — | — | 40 | — | — | — | — | | rowspan="3" | Bigger, Better, Faster, More! |
| scope="row"| "What's Up?"
| rowspan="4" | 1993 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
|
| scope="row"| "Spaceman"
| 117 | 85 | 19 | 28 | 25 | 23 | — | — | 18 | 53 | |
| scope="row"| "Mary's House"
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Wayne's World II soundtrack |
| scope="row"| "Drifting"
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Bigger, Better, Faster, More! |
| scope="row"| "I'm the One"
| rowspan="2" | 1994 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| scope="row"| "Superfly"
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Bigger, Better, Faster, More! |
| scope="row"| "Misty Mountain Hop"
| 1995 | — | 78 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Encomium |
| colspan="14" style="font-size:90%"| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
=Other appearances=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1"
|+ List of guest appearances, showing year released and album name ! scope="col" style="width:16em;"| Title ! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Album |
| scope="row" | "Bless the Beasts and Children"
| rowspan="1"| 1994 |
|---|
=Music videos=
- 1992 – "Dear Mr. President"
- 1993 – "What's Up?"
- 1993 – "Spaceman"
- 1994 – "Superfly"
- 1995 – "Misty Mountain Hop"
- 1996 – "4 Non Blondes vs BBC"
Awards and nominations
| class="wikitable" |
| scope="col"| Year
!scope="col"| Awards !scope="col"| Honoree !scope="col"| Category !scope="col"| Result !scope="col"| {{abbr|Ref.|References}} |
|---|
| scope="row" rowspan="5"|1993
| rowspan="2"| Denmark GAFFA Awards | rowspan="2"| Themselves | Best New Act | {{nom}} |
| Most Overrated
| {{nom}} |
| MTV Video Music Awards
| rowspan="2"| "What's Up" | {{nom}} |
| rowspan="2"| Žebřík Music Awards
| Best International Song | {{nom}} |
| Themselves
| Best International Breakthrough | {{nom}} |
| scope="row" rowspan="2"| 1994
| "What's Up" | Best International Hit | {{won}} | |
| Brit Awards
|Themselves | International Breakthrough Act | {{nom}} |
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{AllMusic|class=artist|id=4-non-blondes-mn0000919239}}
- {{Discogs artist|198591|4 Non Blondes}}
- [http://www.fournonblondes.com A Story of 4 Non Blondes] by Christa Hillhouse
{{4 Non Blondes}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:1989 establishments in California
Category:1994 disestablishments in California
Category:Atlantic Records artists
Category:Alternative rock groups from California
Category:Hard rock musical groups from California
Category:Interscope Records artists
Category:Musical groups established in 1989