Wilson Phillips
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Wilson Phillips is an American singing group made up of Carnie and Wendy Wilson and Chynna Phillips. On account of their hit 1990 debut album, they scored four Grammy Award nominations, two American Music Award nominations and a Billboard Music Award, [1]. They are also famous for being the offspring of prominent musicians; the Wilsons are the daughters of Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, while Phillips's parents are John Phillips and Michelle Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas.
Having broken up in 1993, they reunited in 2004 for a third album.
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[edit] Early life
The Wilson sisters and Phillips were friends from childhood, growing up in southern California in the 1970s and 1980s. The three shared a love of music and songwriting, and developed their own style of vocal harmonies. In 1989, producer Glen Ballard and SBK Records signed the trio to a record deal.
Prior to that, they were signed by Richard Perry to a production deal. Perry who was a famous producer of the 70's and 80's had little or no interest in the group, and only got involved because Michelle Phillips asked him to help out, and Perry was interested in Mama Michelle for other reasons that had nothing to do with music. Perry had his right hand man, Jim Tract meet with the girls to placate Michelle. At the time there were four members of the group, the fourth being Owen Elliot, daughter of Mama Cass.
Tract was a talented producer himself, and had actually mixed most of the Pointer Sisters chart records from that same period, including "I'm So Excited" & "Jump" among others. He took the girls into the studio where he discovered that they needed to be educated. Perry insisted that Tract do something, anything, with the girls to make it look like he was interested, for Michelle. He had him put the girls on Pointer Sisters tracks that were rejected, as well as demos that Tract had collected. Eventually, they began to develop a sound. As a result, Tract saw the potential and started to take the project seriously. Tract talked Carnie, Chynna, and Wendi into dismissing Owen, who was not of recording caliber and a detriment to the progress of the project.
Perry wanted a cute little disco record that he could cash in with, with no concept of a long term career. When Tract began to take the girls in a different direction, Perry was not pleased. Then Perry accidentally walked into Studio B one night at Studio 55 in Hollywod where Tract had just finished recording the track "Next To You." The girls were so thrilled with the results that they had quickly called several friends to come down and hear what they had done. It was the first time that the whole project jelled, and as the playback wailed, and everyone danced and partied, Perry stood in the door slac-jawed, not knowing what to think or say. It is rumored that that was the track that Charles Copleman heard that sold him on the group. It was also written in Rolling Stone magazine that the demos that Tract recorded far surpassed the actual album that was released.
Tract then convinced Perry that the girls had more potential than he was giving them credit for, and suggested hooking them up with Glen Ballard to start writing.
As Tract's personal relationship with the girls grew, and the writing was on the wall with Perry, Tract advised them that Richard Perry was the wrong person for them, and they needed to get an attorney and get out of the deal with Perry. He even went so far as to get them in touch wih Peter Lopez, who went on to negotiate their future deal. Even though Tract knew he would likely not get to finish what he had started with them, he felt it was more important to do the right thing, considering the dysfunctional lives they had experienced to that point. Carnie & Chynna swore up and down they would take him with them wherever they ended up, but in true Hollywood fashion that was not to be; Tract got stiffed and left out in the cold while evryone else cashed in on his work.
Perry negotiated a portion of their publishing as ransom before granting them a release, even after meeting with Michelle at Trader Vic's in Beverly Hills. Michelle made an impassioned plea to Parry to leave the girls' publishing alone, citing that it was her Mama's & Papa's publishing that had kept her alive through the lean year before her soap opera career blossomed. Perry made a small fortune from that publishing, and never shared a dime with the person responsible for achieving it.
Luckily for Wendy, Carnie, & Chynna, Glenn Ballard was a really good guy, and helped them to achieve their dream.
[edit] Chart Success
Wilson Phillips released their debut album Wilson Phillips in 1990. They shot to fame with their debut single, the # 1 hit "Hold On." The album was a hit, producing three number one singles and selling 10 million copies worldwide.
They released their follow-up album Shadows and Light in 1992. It was less successful, producing no top ten singles and selling one million copies. For the group, though, it was a much more personal album and featured songs such as Flesh and Blood, written by Carnie and Wendy about their troubled father Brian Wilson.
Shortly after, however, Chynna announced plans for a solo career, and the group decided to split up.
[edit] 1993-2003 Period
During the next decade, the group went their separate ways. Chynna Phillips released a solo album, "Naked and Sacred" in 1995, while the Wilson sisters released a Christmas album in 1993 and an album "The Wilsons" in 1997. Carnie also went on to host her own television talk show, while Phillips married actor William Baldwin. A "Greatest Hits" album was released in 2000, although the group did not officially reunite for this release. Carnie made headlines in 1999 when she underwent gastric bypass surgery live on the internet and lost over 20 dress sizes. On 29 March 2001 they reunited to perform the Beach Boys' song "You're So Good To Me" at a tribute show to Brian Wilson held at New York's Radio City Music Hall. Chynna Phillips dedicated the performance to her own father John Phillips who had died a few days earlier.
[edit] Reunion
Wilson Phillips reunited in 2004 to release California, an album of cover songs. A single, 'Go Your Own Way,' a remake of the original by Fleetwood Mac, peaked at #13 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. The album debuted at #35 on the charts with 31,000 copies sold, but due to lack of promotion, the album has yet to reach sales of 100,000 copies. In New Zealand the album was a surprise hit, reaching the top 10 and amassing gold sales following 'Go Your Own Way' topping the adult contemporary radio chart for several weeks.
[edit] 2007
Carnie and Wendy have announced that they will once again go on tour as The Wilsons. They have created a new website containing both tour dates and useful information about their reentry into the music scene[2].
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- Wilson Phillips (1990) -*US Chart position: # 2 (Billboard 200)
- Shadows and Light (1992) -*US Chart position: # 4
- Greatest Hits (2000) -*US Chart position: n/a
- California (2004) -*US Chart position: # 35
Where Are You? from Shadows & Light is the recollections of a man abused as a six-year-old boy. It is mentioned in Pedophilia and child sexual abuse in songs.
[edit] Singles
| Year | Title | Album | UK | US Pop | US AC | US RIAA Certification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | "Hold On" | Wilson Phillips | 6 | 1 | 1 | Gold |
| 1990 | "Release Me" | Wilson Phillips | 36 | 1 | 1 | Gold |
| 1990 | "Impulsive" | Wilson Phillips | 42 | 4 | 2 | - |
| 1991 | "You're In Love" | Wilson Phillips | 29 | 1 | 1 | - |
| 1991 | "The Dream is Still Alive" | Wilson Phillips | - | 12 | 4 | - |
| 1991 | "Daniel" | Two Rooms | - | - | 7 | - |
| 1992 | "You Won't See Me Cry" | Shadows and Light | 18 | 20 | 4 | - |
| 1992 | "Give It Up" | Shadows and Light | 36 | 30 | 12 | - |
| 1992 | "Flesh and Blood" | Shadows and Light | - | 115 | 17 | - |
| 2004 | "Go Your Own Way" | California | - | - | 13 | - |
| 2004 | "Already Gone" | California | - | - | - | - |
| 2004 | "Get Together" | California | - | - | - | - |
NOTE: "Daniel" was a track from the Elton John tribute album Two Rooms, released in 1991 on Polydor Records. It was promoted to radio stations as an album track and was not released commercially, thus ineligible to chart on the U.S. Hot 100 at the time.
[edit] Awards & nominations
| Year | Award |
|---|---|
| 1990 | Grammy Award nomination for Song of the Year ("Hold On") |
| 1990 | Grammy Award nomination for Album of the Year (Wilson Phillips) |
| 1990 | Grammy Award nomination for Best New Artist |
| 1990 | Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Duo Or Group |
| 1990 | American Music Award nomination for Favorite Single - Pop / Rock ("Hold On") |
| 1990 | American Music Award nomination for Favorite New Artist - Pop / Rock |
| 1990 | Billboard Music Award Win for Hot 100 Single of the Year ("Hold On") |
| 1991 | Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group ("You're in Love") |
[edit] Trivia
- In the movie Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle the main characters steal a truck from a group of misfits that bully them throughout the movie. They find a tape in the bullies' car and the song "Hold On" can be heard.
- Chynna Phillips dated session guitarist Michael Landau around the time of the release of Wilson Phillips' debut album. Landau's solo album "Tales from the Bulge," released in 1989, features an instrumental ballad called "Chynna."
