Lynn Mabry (born March 21, 1958) is an American singer.

Early life

Born in

Vallejo, California Vallejo ( ; ) is a city in Solano County, California and the second largest city in the North Bay region of the Bay Area. Located on the shores of San Pablo Bay, the city had a population of 126,090 at the 2020 census. Vallejo is home to the ...

, Mabry's mother enjoyed playing piano and her father was a choir director and radio DJ. They divorced when she was 3 years old.

Career

She got her start in

Sly and the Family Stone Sly and the Family Stone was an American band from San Francisco. Active from 1966 to 1983, it was pivotal in the development of funk, soul, rock, and psychedelic music. Its core line-up was led by singer-songwriter, record producer, and multi-i ...

, along with

Dawn Silva Dawn Silva is an American funk vocalist. Silva started her career as a background vocalist for Sly and the Family Stone. She joined Parliament-Funkadelic in 1977. She was the only original Brides of Funkenstein member to continue through the Bri ...

. In 1977, she joined

P-Funk Parliament-Funkadelic (abbreviated as P-Funk) is an American music collective of rotating musicians headed by George Clinton, primarily consisting of the funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic, both active since the 1960s. Their distinctive ...

. The following year, Mabry and Silva became the original

Brides of Funkenstein The Brides of Funkenstein were an American Soul and Funk girl band, originally composed of singers Dawn Silva and Lynn Mabry. History Previously background singers for Sly Stone, singer of Sly and the Family Stone, Lynn Mabry and Dawn Silva jo ...

, releasing their first album ''Funk Or Walk''. Mabry became pregnant and left the band in 1979. She gave birth to a daughter named Akasha Larain Morrison in December 1979 (father is

Walter "Junie" Morrison Walter "Junie" Morrison (June 28, 1954 – January 21, 2017) was an American songwriter, record producer, singer and multi-instrumentalist. He was a member of the Ohio Players in the early 1970s, and later became a member and musical direc ...

). Silva continued The Brides with backing singers

Sheila Horne Brides of Funkenstein member Sheila Horne was hired as a back-up singer for original Brides Lynn Mabry and Dawn Silva in 1978. She became a main singer with Silva and Jeanette McGruder in 1979 for the second Brides album ''Never Buy Texas from a C ...

and

Jeanette McGruder Jeanette McGruder (born November 8, 1954) is a singer, comedian, sketch actress, and writer, who has performed with P-Funk, Brides Of Funkenstein, and Lynn Mabry and Dawn Silva. In 1979, she recorded with Silva and Sheila Horne on "Never Buy Texa ...

for another year. In 1983, Mabry joined

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talkin ...

for their concert film ''

Stop Making Sense ''Stop Making Sense'' is a 1984 American concert film featuring a live performance by the American rock band Talking Heads. Directed by Jonathan Demme, it was shot over the course of three nights at Hollywood's Pantages Theater in December 1983 ...

''. She also spent time as a background vocalist, continuing to tour with such acts as

Rita Coolidge Rita Coolidge (born May 1, 1945) is an American recording artist. During the 1970s and 1980s, her songs were on '' Billboard'' magazine's pop, country, adult contemporary, and jazz charts, and she won two Grammy Awards with fellow musician and t ...

Namie Amuro Namie Amuro ( ; ja, 安室奈美恵, Amuro Namie, label=none; born September 20, 1977) is a Japanese former recording artist, producer, songwriter, dancer, model, actress and entrepreneur who was active between 1992 and 2018. A leading figure of ...

and

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Be ...

and George Michael in 1989 on the song "If You Were My Woman". In 1990, she toured as a backing vocalist for

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...

during their '' Behind the Mask Tour''. In 1991, she toured as a backing vocalist for

Stevie Nicks Stephanie Lynn Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter, and producer known for her work with the band Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist. After starting her career as a duo with her then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham, releasi ...

during her ''Time Space'' tour. In the same year, she performed a cover version

Soul II Soul Soul II Soul are a British musical collective formed in London in 1988. They are best known for their two major hits; 1989's UK number five and US number eleven " Keep On Movin'", and its follow-up, the UK number one and US number four " Back to ...

's "

Back to Life (However Do You Want Me) Back to Life may refer to: Books *''Back to Life: Poems from behind the Iron Curtain'', 1958, ed. Robert Conquest * ''Back to Life'' (novel), 2004 novel by Wendy Coakley-Thompson *''Back to Life, The Rachel Riley Diaries'', 2009 novel by Joanna Nad ...

" with

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the MTV generation and is one of the best-selling musici ...

for his ''

Cover to Cover tour Cover to Cover was the second solo concert tour by English recording artist George Michael. The tour spanned 9 months between January and October 1991, comprising 30 shows across the United Kingdom, Brazil, Japan, Canada and the United States.

''. Mabry is also a business partner with

Sheila E Sheila Cecilia Escovedo (born December 12, 1957) better known under the stage name Sheila E., is an American percussionist and singer. She began her career in the mid-1970s as a percussionist and singer for The George Duke Band. After leaving t ...

. In 2001, the two co-founded the nonprofit Elevate Hope Foundation, which uses music and the arts to help "abused and abandoned children."Elevate Hope Foundation , Elevate Oakland
/ref>

Filmography

References

1958 births Living people P-Funk members American women chief executives American nonprofit chief executives Musicians from Vallejo, California {{US-singer-stub