 |
| NONA |
| Hendryx |
| NONA |
| Hendryx |
| Wynona Hendryx was born on October 9, 1944 in Trenton, New Jersey. Growing up, church was a big part of Nona's life, in fact it was at church that she met Sarah Dash. While teenagers the two formed their first group The Del Capris. Two other friends Patricia Holte and Cindy Birdsong were in another group The Ordettes. The four singers came together in 1962 to form the Bluebelles. They had a few minor hits while Patricia became Patti and racked up four albums as Patti LaBelle and The Bluebelles. When Cindy left to replace Flo Ballard in the Supremes the quartet became a trio known simply as LaBelle. As LaBelle the group racked up five albums including the disco hits "Lady Marmalade" (1975) and "Messin' With My Mind" (1976). The group disbanded in 1977 and all three ladies left to pursue solo careers. "Nona" was released in 1977 and featured the hit single "Everybody Wants To Be Somebody." The album featured no real disco hits and was considered a rock failure. While Patti and Sarah went straight to disco success Nona lurked around in the background...vocals that is. She turned in performances on Talking Heads, Cameo, Garland Jeffreys and Jerry Harrison albums between 1977 and 1981. In 1981 she recorded "Busting Out" with the group Material. The 12" single shot up the club charts and suddenly she was a hit. A second 12" single with Material, "It's A Holiday" cemented her comeback that year. The following year she surfaced again on a clever remake of the T-Connection song "Do What You Wanna Do" with the group The Cage. With three strong singles under her belt she was offered a contract with RCA Records. "Nona Hendryx" was released in 1983. The album was co-produced by Nona and Material. The six year gap in albums showed that Nona had moved into her own musically. Her reward was three more hit 12" singles: "B-Boys," "Transformation" and the killer "Keep It Confidential." The following year she once again chose Material to aid her in the making of "The Art Of Defense." The album spawned the huge 1984 hit "I Sweat (Going Through The Motions)" which later popped up in the movie flop "Perfect" in a remixed form. A second 12" single of "To The Bone" did not do as well and broke her three year string of club hits. In 1985 the 41 year old Hendryx coupled with Bernard Edwards (Chic) and Arthur Baker for her third RCA Records album "The Heat." Only one single was released, "If Looks Could Kill (D.O.A.)." The song, while good, did not chart, perhaps it was over the confusion with Pamala Stanley and Heart's version of a different "If Looks Could Kill?" A move to EMI-America Records in 1987 saw Nona working with Dan Hartman on her next album "Female Trouble." The first 12" single was "Baby Go-Go" followed by two different 12" singles of "Why Should I Cry (Baby For You)?" The album was a smash and thanks to the late Hartman she once again redefined her musical style. In 1989 she released her last solo album to mixed reviews. "Skin Diver" had no charting singles but remains an interesting effort. She has recently been awarded a grant to bring a visual performance of "Skin Diver" to the stage. All throughout her career she has remained active contributing her vocals to other artists endeavors. In 1992 she teamed up with Billy Vera for "You Have To Cry Sometime" her final album release. In 1995 she reunited with Patti and Sarah for the Shep Pettibone produced 12" single "Turn It Out." The song was billed as by LaBelle and featured in the movie "To Wong Foo..." She once again had a club hit. It has been a decade now since that release and we've heard very little from Nona. Still we can't help but love the "bad girl" of LaBelle. |
 |