4 Non Blondes

4 Non Blondes
Origin	San Francisco, California, United States
Genres	Alternative rock, blues rock, psychedelic rock, hard rock
Years active	1989–1994, 2014
Labels	Interscope, Atlantic
Associated acts	Malibu Barbi Louis Metoyer Band
Past members	Linda Perry Christa Hillhouse Shaunna Hall Wanda Day Dawn Richardson Louis Metoyer Roger Rocha

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, as of 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 track list were "Train", "Spaceman", "The Ladder", "Mighty Lady", "Superfly" and "What's Up?". The fundraiser was organized by the Los Angeles LGBT Center.^[8]

Members

• Linda Perry (born April 15, 1965)  – vocals, guitar (1989–1994, 2014)
• Christa Hillhouse (born November 28, 1961)  – bass (1989–1994, 2014)
• Shaunna Hall (born July 28, 1963)  – guitar (1989–1992)
• Wanda Day (born November 10, 1960 - died July 10, 1997)  – drums (1989–1992)
• Dawn Richardson (born April 19, 1964)  – drums (1992–1994, 2014)
• Louis Metoyer (born October 19, 1965)  – guitar (1992)
• Roger Rocha (born June 3, 1966)  – guitar (1992–1994, 2014)

Timeline

Discography

Studio album

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions										Certifications (sales thresholds)
		US [9]	AUS [10]	AUT [11]	GER [12]	NLD [13]	NO [14]	NZ [15]	SWE [16]	CH [17]	UK [18]
1992	Bigger, Better, Faster, More! Released: October 13, 1992 Label: Interscope	13	4	1	1	1	1	10	1	1	4	US: Platinum[19] GER: 3 × Gold[20] UK: Gold[21]

Live album

• Hello Mr. President (Live in Italy 1993) (1994)

Singles

Year	Title	Peak chart positions												Album
		US [22]	AUS [23]	AUT [24]	BEL [25]	FRA [26]	GER [12]	NLD [27]	NOR [28]	NZ [29]	SWE [30]	SWI [31]	UK [32]
1992	"Dear Mr. President"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	40	—	—	46	Bigger, Better, Faster, More!
1993	"What's Up?"	14	2	1	1	3	1	1	1	2	1	1	2
	"Spaceman"	—	—	19	24	—	28	25	—	23	—	18	53
	"Mary's House"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	56
1994	"I'm the One"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	73	Airheads soundtrack
	"Superfly"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	41	Bigger, Better, Faster, More!
1995	"Misty Mountain Hop"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	78	Encomium
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

See also

• List of bands from the San Francisco Bay Area

References

1. Morrissey, Alanis (2000). The Great Rock Discography (5th ed.). Edinburgh: Mojo Books. p. 355. ISBN 1-84195-017-3.
2. Indiana, Gary (July–August 1991). "4 Non Blondes Interview". Flipside Magazine.
3. "Earthquake". Time Magazine. Time Inc. October 30, 1989. Archived from the original on 24 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
4. Chun, Kimberly. "Noise: Miss understood". The San Francisco Bay Guardian. The San Francisco Bay Guardian. Archived from the original on 2012-10-28. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
5. Hall, Shaunna. "Life and Times of Wanda Day". Loudith Faire. Retrieved 2008-11-24.
6. "Death: Wanda Marie Day". Deseret News. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
7. Kimberly Chun. "Miss Understood". San Francisco Bay Guardian. Archived from the original on 2012-10-28. Retrieved 2014-06-18.
8. Breihan, Tom (2014-05-11). "Watch A Reunited 4 Non Blondes Play "What's Up" For The First Time In 20 Years". Stereogum. Spin Media. Retrieved 2014-05-12.
9. "Chart Stats - 4 Non Blondes". billboard.com. Retrieved 2011-11-17.
10. "Discography 4 Non Blondes". Australian-Charts.com. Retrieved 2011-11-17.
11. "Discographie 4 Non Blondes". AustrianCharts.at. Retrieved 2011-11-17.
12. "Suche nach '4 Non Blondes'" [Search for '4 Non Blondes']. Charts.de (in German). Media Control AG. Retrieved 2014-01-03.
13. "Discografie 4 Non Blondes". DutchCharts.nl. Retrieved 2011-11-17.
14. "Discography 4 Non Blondes". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
15. "Discography 4 Non Blondes". Charts.ord.nz. Retrieved 2011-11-17.
16. "Discography 4 Non Blondes". SwedishCharts.com. Retrieved 2011-11-17.
17. "Discography 4 Non Blondes". SwissCharts.com. Retrieved 2011-11-17.
18. "Chart Stats - 4 Non Blondes". theofficialcharts.com. Retrieved 2011-11-17.
19. "Searchable Database". Recording Industry Association of America. Archived from the original on 2007-06-26. Retrieved 2011-11-17. Note: User must define 'Artist' search parameter as "4 Non Blondes".
20. "Gold/Platin". Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 2014-01-03.
21. "Certified Awards Search" Archived May 11, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.. British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved on 2011-11-17. Note: User needs to enter "4 Non Blondes" in the "Search" field, "Artist" in the "Search by" field and click the "Go" button. Select "More info" next to the relevant entry to see full certification history.
22. "4 Non Blondes". Billboard. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
23. "4 NON BLONDES IN AUSTRALIAN CHARTS". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
24. "4 NON BLONDES IN DER ÖSTERREICHISCHEN HITPARADE". Austriancharts.at. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
25. "4 NON BLONDES - WHAT'S UP?". Ultra Top. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
26. "4 NON BLONDES DANS LES CHARTS FRANÇAIS". lescharts.com. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
27. "4 NON BLONDES IN DUTCH CHARTS". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
28. "4 NON BLONDES IN NORWEGIAN CHARTS". Norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
29. "4 NON BLONDES IN NEW ZEALAND CHARTS". Charts.org.nz. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
30. "DISCOGRAPHY 4 NON BLONDES". Swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
31. "4 NON BLONDES - WHAT'S UP?". Hitparade.ch. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
32. "4 NON BLONDES". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 December 2013.

External links

• 4 Non Blondes at AllMusic
• A Story of 4 Non Blondes by Christa Hillhouse
• 4 Non Blonde Page on Founding Guitarist Shaunna Hall's Official Website