4 Non Blondes was an American rock band from San Francisco, California,[1] formed in 1989. The group was formed by bassist Christa Hillhouse, guitarist Shaunna Hall, drummer Wanda Day, and vocalist and guitarist Linda Perry. Prior to the release of their first album, Roger Rocha replaced Hall on guitar, and Dawn Richardson replaced Day on drums. They hit the charts in 1993 with "What's Up?", their only major hit single. Perry left the band in 1994 to begin a solo career, and the remaining members disbanded shortly after.[1]
Career
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 PM on October 17, 1989, but
shortly after 5 PM the Loma Prieta earthquake hit the San Francisco area.[2][3]
The band was signed to Interscope in July 1991 following a performance at the Gavin Convention where the band opened for Primus
on Valentine's Day of the same year. As they began pre-production for
their debut album, Day was fired from 4 Non Blondes and was replaced by
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.[4] Guitarist Louis Metoyer finished the record. Roger Rocha
joined after completion of the album and stayed with the band until
1994. After leaving the Blondes in 1991, Day continued drumming with
Malibu Barbi,[5]
and then Bad Dog Play Dead. In late 1992, she had an accident and
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.
Day died on July 10, 1997,[6] due to a drug overdose according to Christa Hillhouse[7] and is buried in Tropic, Utah.
Later work
4 Non Blondes contributed the song "Mary's House" to the film Wayne's World 2 in 1993. They also covered Van Halen's "I'm the One" on the soundtrack for the film 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.
The group disbanded in late 1994 during the recording of their second album. Lead vocalist Linda Perry went solo in 1995. Perry has since released solo work, produced and written songs on hit albums by Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys, Pink, Gwen Stefani, Courtney Love and Kelly Osbourne. 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
(2002- ), and released "Electrofunkadelica: e3+FUNKnth = music for the
body, mind & soul", a self produced project in 2006 on Make Music,
Not War! Records.
Christa Hillhouse, currently at 2013, is part of a country rock band called PieTramps On 11 May 2014, the group reunited to perform a small concert at a
fundraiser entitled "An Evening For Women" which was held at the Beverly
Hilton in Los Angeles. The six songs on the tracklist were "Train",
"Spaceman", "The Ladder", "Mighty Lady", "Superfly" and "What's Up?". The fundraiser was organized by the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center.[8]
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