Norma Jean Wright
Norma Jean Wright | |
---|---|
Born | (1950-07-15) July 15, 1950 (age 74) Ripley, Tennessee, (U.S.) |
Origin | Elyria, Ohio, (U.S.) |
Genres | Disco, soul, funk |
Occupation(s) | 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]
Early life
Norma Jean Wright was born in Ripley, Tennessee. At young age, she relocated to Elyria, Ohio, with her family. She attended Ohio State University.
Career
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"
Discography
Studio albums
- Norma Jean (1978)
EP
- Living And Loving Life (2024)
Singles
Year | Title | Peak chart positions | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
US Pop [3] | US R&B [3] | US Dance [4] | ||
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" | ― | ― | ― |
References
- ^ a b c Ed, Hogan. "Norma Jean Wright Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-08-08.
- ^ "NORMA JEAN WRIGHT | theculturenews".
- ^ a b "Norma Jean Wright Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography". Music VF. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
- ^ "Norma Jean Wright - Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on July 21, 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
External links
- Norma Jean Wright discography at Discogs
- chictribute.com
- officialnormajeanwright.com
- v
- t
- e
- Bernard Edwards
- Nile Rodgers
- Tony Thompson
- Alfa Anderson
- Luci Martin
- Norma Jean Wright
- Fonzi Thornton
- Michelle Cobbs
- Nathaniel S. Hardy, Jr.
- Omar Hakim
- Robert Sabino
- Sylver Logan Sharp
- Luther Vandross
- Chic (1977)
- C'est Chic (1978)
- Risqué (1979)
- Real People (1980)
- Take It Off (1981)
- Soup For One (1982)
- Tongue in Chic (1982)
- Believer (1983)
- Chic-ism (1992)
- It's About Time (2018)
- Live at the Budokan (1999)
- A Night in Amsterdam (2006)
- Les Plus Grands Succès De Chic: Chic's Greatest Hits (1979)
- Freak Out: The Greatest Hits of Chic and Sister Sledge (1988)
- Megachic: Best of Chic (1990)
- Dance, Dance, Dance: The Best of Chic (1991)
- The Best of Chic, Volume 2 (1992)
- Everybody Dance (1995)
- Dance, Dance, Dance & Other Hits (1997)
- The Very Best of Chic & Sister Sledge (1999)
- The Very Best of Chic (2000)
- Good Times: The Very Best of the Hits & the Remixes (Chic & Sister Sledge) (2005)
- The Definitive Groove Collection (2006)
- Up All Night (2013)
- "Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)"
- "Everybody Dance"
- "Le Freak"
- "I Want Your Love"
- "Good Times"
- "My Forbidden Lover"
- "My Feet Keep Dancing"
- "Rebels Are We"
- "Real People"
- "Stage Fright"
- "Soup for One"
- "Hangin'"
- "Chic Mystique"
- "I'll Be There"
- Discography
- "Rapper's Delight"
- "Lady (Hear Me Tonight)"