Norma Jean Wright | |
---|---|
Born | Ripley, Tennessee, (U.S.) | July 15, 1950
Origin | Elyria, Ohio, (U.S.) |
Genres | Disco, soul, funk |
Occupation | Singer |
Years active | 1976-present |
Website | www |
Norma Jean Wright (born July 15, 1950) is an American singer and was the lead vocalist of the American group Chic, a soul, R&B and disco band, from 1977 to 1978. [1]
Norma Jean Wright was born in Ripley, Tennessee. At young age, she relocated to Elyria, Ohio, with her family. She attended Ohio State University.
Wright sang in the female trio, the Topettes, and toured for a short time with The Spinners. In 1977, she joined Chic, a soul, R&B and disco band. [1]
Most notably, she sang lead vocal on Chic's debut album, Chic (1977), which includes the hits "Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)" (#6 Pop, #6 R&B in January 1978) and "Everybody Dance" (#38 Pop, #12 R&B in April 1978).
She left Chic in 1978 to begin a solo career, billed as Norma Jean. In July 1978, she scored her first R&B Top 20 hit, "Saturday" (#15), from her debut album, Norma Jean on the Bearsville Records label, produced by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers. [1] In January 1980, she scored her second (and last) R&B Top 20 hit, "High Society" (#19), also produced by the Chic team.
Her first album included several popular songs: "Sorcerer", "Having a Party", and "I Like Love." Later popular songs were "Hold Me Lonely Boy" (1979), "Love Attack" (1983), "Shot in the Dark" (1984), and "Every Bit of This Love" (1985). In 2004, "I Like Love" was sampled by the British dance project Solitaire for their club hit "I Like Love (I Love Love)."
Wright has sung as a backing vocalist with C+C Music Factory, Constina, Randy Crawford, Will Downing, Aretha Franklin, Fantasy, Debbie Gibson, Nelson Rangell, Luther Vandross, Madonna, Sister Sledge, Nick Scotti & Freddie Jackson. She frequently appears in a duo with Luci Martin, another former Chic vocalist. In 2018, Wright joined and toured with the female group First Ladies of Disco. In March 2019, Wright released the single "Don't Stop Me Now" with the group.
In 2019, she received The Culture News Award for Lifetime Achievement by David Serero. [2]
In 2024, Norma Jean Wright released her first EP entitled "Living And Loving Life." That same year, she released two new singles, "Around Me" and "In Love Again," written and produced by David Serero. [3] [4]
Year | Title | Peak chart positions | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
US Pop [5] | US R&B [5] | US Dance [6] | ||
1978 | "Saturday" | 103 | 15 | 10 |
"Sorcerer" | ― | ― | ||
"Having a Party" | ― | 83 | ||
"I Like Love" | ― | ― | ||
1979 | "High Society" | ― | 19 | 92 |
1983 | "Love Attack" | ― | ― | ― |
1984 | "Shot in the Dark" | ― | ― | ― |
1985 | "Every Bit of This Love" | ― | ― | ― |
2004 | "You Lift Me Up" | ― | ― | ― |
2024 | "Living And Loving Life" | ― | ― | ― |
2024 | "Around Me" | ― | ― | ― |
2024 | "In Love Again" | ― | ― | ― |
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"Dance, Dance, Dance " is a song by American R&B band Chic. It was the group's first single, a hit in the United States, as well as in the United Kingdom and Canada. In addition, along with the tracks "You Can Get By" and "Everybody Dance", the single reached number one on the disco chart. Luther Vandross provided backup vocals. He was working as a session vocalist at the time.
Chic is the debut album by Chic, released on Atlantic Records in 1977. The cover art featured two models, Valentine Monnier (left) and Alva Chinn (right), uncredited in a photograph taken by Frank Laffitte.
Norma Jean is the debut, and only, solo studio album by American R&B singer Norma Jean Wright, released on Bearsville Records in 1978. The album was produced by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers of the band Chic, and was the project directly following the band's successful self-titled debut album Chic, which featured Wright on vocals.
Les Plus Grands Succès De Chic: Chic's Greatest Hits, also known as The Best of Chic, is a greatest hits album by the American R&B band Chic, released on Atlantic Records in late 1979. It includes the biggest hits from their first three albums: Chic (1977), C'est Chic (1978) and Risqué (1979).
Dance, Dance, Dance: The Best of Chic is a greatest hits album of recordings by American R&B band Chic, released by Atlantic Records/Warner Music in 1991. The compilation covers the hits and best-known album tracks from the band's early career, 1977–1979, with the addition of 1982 track "Soup for One".
The Very Best of Chic is a compilation album of recordings by American R&B band Chic, released by Rhino Records/Warner Music in 2000. The compilation covers the band's hits and best-known album tracks recorded between the years 1977 and 1982. All selections are original full-length album versions.
"Everybody Dance" is a song by American band Chic. The disco song, which features Norma Jean Wright on lead vocals and Luther Vandross, Diva Gray, Robin Clark and David Lasley on background vocals, was released as the second single from the band's self-titled debut album Chic (1977). According to guitarist Nile Rodgers, it was the first song specifically written for Chic, and, due to its historical status and popularity, is usually played as the opening song of the band's live set. It was later heavily sampled by British group Steps on their song "Stomp" and echoed by the Manic Street Preachers on their single "(It's Not War) Just the End of Love".
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Alfa Anderson was an American singer and educator, best known as one of the lead vocalists of the 1970s band Chic.