Norma Jean Wright -

Norma Jean Wright is an American soul singer who co-founded Chic and sang on their 1977 debut album. In 1978, she scored an R&B hit with “Saturday” from her Bearsville solo album Norma Jean, produced by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards.

Background

Norma Jean Wright was born on July 15, 1950, in Ripley, Tennessee, and grew up in Elyria, Ohio. She sang in a church choir as a child and later attended Ohio State University. Wright sang with the female trio the Topettes and toured briefly with the Spinners.

Wright moved to New York City in the mid-1970s and auditioned for bandleader Curtis Knight before she met singer Luci Martin. The pair worked between New York and Canada as background singers. A roommate connected Wright with bassist Bernard Edwards and guitarist Nile Rodgers as they formed Chic. Edwards and Rodgers hired Wright under an agreement that allowed a solo career alongside the group.

Wright sang lead vocals on Chic’s 1977 debut album, including “Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)” and “Everybody Dance.” In early 1978, she left Chic for a solo career.

Norma Jean

Norma Jean Wright released her self-titled debut album in July 1978 on Bearsville Records.

The album contains four songs by the Edwards–Rodgers production team and three additional tracks, including the Sam Cooke cover “Having a Party.”

“Saturday” thumps beneath “I just can’t wait till Saturday” replies and breaks for vibraphone figures. “Having a Party” runs a faster instrumental bed under a relaxed vocal line. “I Believe in You” slows around reassurance lyrics and short backing replies.

“Sorcerer” snaps through electronic effects, busy percussion, and guitar-piano bars. “This Is the Love” narrows Wright’s softer side to a brief love statement. “I Like Love” rolls fretboard figures and circles repeated love-language phrases.

Jean recorded the album with Rodgers, Edwards, and Chic drummer Tony Thompson. Additional backing players include pianist Raymond Jones, keyboardist Tom Coppola, harpist Gloria Agostini, vibraphonist David Friedman, trumpeter Jon Faddis, trombonist Barry Rogers. Alfa Anderson and Luther Vandross appear as backing vocalists.

A1. “Saturday” (6:05) – Carter–Edwards–Rodgers
A2. “Having a Party” (4:28) – Cooke
A3. “I Believe in You” (5:11) – Chris Dawkins, Norman Whitehead

B1. “Sorcerer” (4:58) – Edwards–Rodgers
B2. “So I Get Hurt Again” (4:48) – Edwards–Rodgers
B3. “This Is the Love” (3:08) – Wright, Denzil Miller
B4. “I Like Love” (5:43) – Edwards–Rodgers

Sessions occurred at the Power Station in New York City with Rodgers–Edwards and engineer Bob Clearmountain, who worked in sequence on albums by Billy Cobham, Brecker Brothers, Jimmy Ponder, Jimmy Smith, Joe Thomas, Phreek, The Rezillos, Rupert Holmes, and the sophomore Chic effort C’est Chic, which preceded the next Rodgers–Edwards client, Sister Sledge.

Norma Jean features sleeve photography by Norman Seeff, whose stark portraiture graces recent covers by Al Green, Joni Mitchell, Kath Green, Phoebe Snow, Ramsey Lewis, and Tata Vega. The backside shows Jean’s silhouette with white cursive text.

Bearsville lifted “Saturday” as a June 1978 single (b/w “This Is the Love”), which reached No. 15 on Billboard Hot Soul Singles.

“Having a Party” followed in September 1978 (b/w “So I Get Hurt Again”) and reached No. 83 on Billboard Hot Soul Singles. “Sorcerer” appeared as a January 1979 (b/w “I Believe in You”).

Postlude

Wright followed Norma Jean with the 1979 Bearsville single “High Society” (b/w “Hold Me Lonely Boy”), another Edwards–Rodgers production issued in standard 7″ and 12″ formats.

Raymond Jones produced her 1983 comeback single “Shot In the Dark,” released on MCA and followed in 1985 with “Every Bit of This Love,” arranged by Hubert Eaves and Zane Mark.

As a backing vocalist, Wright appeared on 1981–84 albums by Amuzement Park, Aretha Franklin, Change, Coffee, Fantasy, Marc Sadane, Melba Moore, Spinners, Stephanie Mills, Sunfire, and Dunn & Bruce Street. Along with Gwen Guthrie, she sang backup on the 1983 Madonna debut.

Discography: