Norma Jean Wright (born July 15, 1956) is an American singer and was the lead vocalist of the American group

Chic Chic (; ), meaning "stylish" or "smart", is an element of fashion. It was originally a French word. Pronounced Chick. Etymology '' Chic'' is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s. Early references in English diction ...

, a

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

, R&B and

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

band, from 1977 to 1978.Hogan, Ed
Norma Jean Wright Biography
,

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, retrieved 2011-08-08

Early life

Norma Jean Wright was born in Ripley, Tennessee. At young age, she relocated to

Elyria, Ohio Elyria ( ) is a city in the Greater Cleveland metropolitan statistical area and the county seat of Lorain County, Ohio, United States, located at the forks of the Black River in Northeast Ohio 23 miles southwest of Cleveland. As of the 2020 cen ...

, with her family. She attended

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

Career

Wright sang in the female trio, the Topettes, and toured for a short time with The Spinners. In 1977, she joined

, a soul, R&B and disco band. Most notably, she sang lead vocal on Chic's debut album, ''

'' (1977), which includes the hits "

Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah) "Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)" is a song by American band Chic, released as their debut single. It was a hit in the United States, reaching number six on both the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts. In additi ...

" (#6 Pop, #6 R&B in January 1978) and " Everybody Dance" (#38 Pop, #12 R&B in April 1978). She left Chic in 1978 to begin a solo career, billed as Norma Jean. In July 1978, she scored her first R&B Top 20 hit, "Saturday" (#15), from her debut album, '' Norma Jean'' on the Bearsville Records label, produced by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers. In January 1980, she scored her second (and last) R&B Top 20 hit, "High Society" (#19), also produced by the Chic team. Her first album included several popular songs: "Sorcerer", "Having a Party", and "I Like Love." Later popular songs were "Hold Me Lonely Boy" (1979), "Love Attack" (1983), "Shot in the Dark" (1984), and "Every Bit of This Love" (1985). In 2004, "I Like Love" was sampled by the British dance project Solitaire for their club hit "I Like Love (I Love Love)." Wright has sung as a backing vocalist with

C+C Music Factory C, or c, is the third letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''cee'' (pronounced ), plural ''cees''. History "C" ...

, Constina,

Randy Crawford Veronica "Randy" Crawford (born February 18, 1952) is an American jazz and R&B singer. She has been more successful in Europe than in the United States, where she has not entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 as a solo artist. However, she has ap ...

Will Downing Wilfred "Will" Downing (born November 29, 1963) is an American singer and songwriter. He is married to singer Audrey Wheeler, who was a member of the R&B group Unlimited Touch. Biography Downing enrolled in Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn ...

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

Fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

Debbie Gibson Deborah Ann Gibson (born August 31, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Gibson released her debut album '' Out of the Blue'' in 1987, which spawned several international hits, later being certified triple plati ...

Nelson Rangell Nelson Rangell (born March 26, 1960) is an American smooth jazz musician and composer from Castle Rock, Colorado. Although he is known for his work with the tenor, alto, and soprano saxophone, his primary instrument is the piccolo, which he beg ...

, Luther Vandross, Madonna, Sister Sledge, Nick Scotti &

Freddie Jackson Frederick Anthony Jackson (born October 2, 1956) is an American singer. Originally from New York, Jackson began his professional music career in the late 1970s with the California funk band Mystic Merlin. Among his well–known R&B/soul hits are " ...

. She frequently appears in a duo with Luci Martin, another former Chic vocalist. In 2018, Wright joined and toured with the female group First Ladies of Disco. In March 2019, Wright released the single "Don't Stop Me Now" with the group. In 2019, she received The Culture News Award for Lifetime Achievement by David Serero.

Discography

* '' Norma Jean'' (1978)

References

External links

chictribute.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Norma Jean Living people 20th-century African-American women singers American dance musicians American disco musicians American rhythm and blues singers American soul musicians Chic (band) members People from Elyria, Ohio Ohio State University alumni Bearsville Records artists 1956 births 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women