Nona Hendryx

Nona Hendryx
Nona Hendryx performing at the Bowery Poetry Club as part of the Captain Beefheart tribute Best Batch Yet (June 7, 2011)
Background information
Born	(1944-10-09) October 9, 1944 (age 72) Trenton, New Jersey, United States
Genres	Funk,soul,pop,R&B,hard rock,funk rock,new wave,new-age
Occupation(s)	Musician, songwriter, record producer
Instruments	Vocalist, piano, guitar
Years active	1961—
Labels	ZE Records, Epic, Arista, RCA, Private Music, EMI, Righteous Babe Records
Associated acts	Labelle, Material, Talking Heads, Zero Cool, Mosaic, Daughters of Soul

Nona Hendryx (born October 9, 1944), is an American vocalist, record producer, songwriter, musician, author, and actress.

Hendryx is known for her work as a solo artist as well as for being one-third of the trio Labelle, who had a hit with "Lady Marmalade." Her music has ranged from soul, funk, and R&B to hard rock, new wave, and new-age. Her family's last name was originally spelled with an "i"; she is a cousin of American musician Jimi Hendrix.

Hendryx was born in Trenton, New Jersey in 1944 where she met fellow New Jersey native Sarah Dash and later met Philadelphia-born singer Patricia Holte (AKA Patti LaBelle). After a short-lived tenure as a member of the Del-Capris, Hendryx and Dash formed a singing group with Holte (once the lead singer of a girl group in Philadelphia called The Ordettes). In 1961, Cindy Birdsong, from Camden, New Jersey, became the fourth member of the group, who became the 'Bluebelles' and signed their first deal with Newtown Records.

After the release of their debut hit, 1962's "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman", their name altered again to Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles. Hendryx's husky alto differed from Dash's sharp soprano, LaBelle's mezzo-soprano and Birdsong's second soprano. During this tenure, the group became known for their emotional live performances and their renditions of classic standards such as "You'll Never Walk Alone", "Over The Rainbow"and "Danny Boy". The group often found themselves competing against girl groups such as The Chantels, Shirelles and The Supremes. In 1967, Hendryx, LaBelle and Dash were shocked to discover that Birdsong had secretly joined the Supremes after Florence Ballard was ousted from the group by Motown. Different members of the group were in touch with Birdsong over the years. Birdsong's relationships with the Bluebelles healed and they came together again for the ceremony when the group won an R&B Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999.