Wendy and Bonnie Flower were

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

singing sisters, who recorded the

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

''Genesis'' in 1969 for

Skye Records Skye Records was a United States-based record label established in early 1968 by music executive/producer/artist manager Norman Schwartz, in partnership with musician/arranger Gary McFarland, guitarist Gábor Szabó, and vibraphonist Cal Tjader. ...

. The album was produced and

arranged In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchest ...

by jazz

polymath A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...

Gary McFarland Gary Robert McFarland (October 23, 1933 – November 3, 1971) was an American composer, arranger, vibraphonist and vocalist. He recorded for the jazz imprints Verve and Impulse! Records during the 1960s. '' Down Beat magazine'' said he made "one ...

. McFarland at the time was a partner in the ownership of Skye, along with music

impresario An impresario (from the Italian ''impresa'', "an enterprise or undertaking") is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film or television producer. Hist ...

Norman Schwartz, Latin percussionist

Cal Tjader Callen Radcliffe Tjader Jr. ( ; July 16, 1925 – May 5, 1982) was an American Latin Jazz musician, known as the most successful non-Latino Latin musician. He explored other jazz idioms, even as he continued to perform music of Afro-Jazz, ...

(who was Wendy and Bonnie's godfather), and guitarist

Gábor Szabó Gábor István Szabó (March 8, 1936 – February 26, 1982) was a Hungarian American guitarist whose style incorporated jazz, pop, rock, and Hungarian music. Early years Szabó was born in Budapest, Hungary. He began playing guitar at the age ...

. The sisters grew up in

Millbrae Millbrae is a city located in northern San Mateo County, California, San Mateo County, California, United States. To its northeast is San Francisco International Airport, San Bruno, California, San Bruno is on its northwest, and Burlingame, Cal ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, in the

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...

suburbs. Their parents, Art and Jeane Flower, were professional musicians."Wendy & Bonnie," Psychedelicized.com
/ref> In 1967, Wendy played and recorded with an early San Francisco

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...

band called Crystal Fountain; Bonnie later joined the band as

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

. The following year, Tjader heard some of the Flower sisters' acoustic home

demos Demos may refer to: Computing * DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system * DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR * Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems * plural for Demo (computer programming) ...

and arranged a recording session with Skye. The sisters, who were teens at the time the album was recorded, composed all the songs. McFarland served as

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

on the sessions, crafting a post-psychedelic

soft rock Soft rock is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in Southern California and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, melodic songs with big, lush productions. S ...

sound with Brazilian overtones. Musicians who performed on the album included guitarist

Larry Carlton Larry Eugene Carlton (born March 2, 1948) is an American guitarist who built his career as a studio musician in the 1970s and 1980s for acts such as Steely Dan and Joni Mitchell. He has participated in thousands of recording sessions, recorde ...

, drummer

Jim Keltner James Lee Keltner (born April 27, 1942) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. He was characterized by Bob Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as "the leading session drummer in America".Howard Sounes. ''Down ...

, and keyboardist

Mike Melvoin Mike Melvoin (May 10, 1937February 22, 2012) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. He served as chairman and president of The Recording Academy and worked as a prolific studio musician, recording with Frank Sinatra, John Lennon, ...

. The Skye label went bankrupt shortly after the album's release.Valish, Frank, "Genesis and Beyond: Q&A with Wendy Flower of Wendy and Bonnie"
'' Under the Radar'', March 7, 2014 In 1971, while planning for additional recording with the Flower sisters, McFarland died of methadone poisoning in mysterious circumstances in a

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

bar. In the early 1970s, Wendy and Bonnie provided

background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are used ...

on two Cal Tjader albums for

Fantasy Records Fantasy Records is an American independent record label company founded by brothers Max and Sol Stanley Weiss in 1949. The early years of the company were dedicated to issuing recordings by jazz pianist Dave Brubeck, who was also one of its inves ...

. Thereafter, the sisters pursued separate careers in music and entertainment, but did not record together again. ''Genesis'' was

reissue In the music industry, a reissue (also re-release, repackage or re-edition) is the release of an album or Single (music), single which has been released at least once before, sometimes with alterations or additions. Reasons for reissue New aud ...

d on CD in 2001 by the

Sundazed Records Sundazed Music is an American independent record label based in Coxsackie, New York. It specializes in obscure and rare recordings from the 1950s to the 1970s. In 2000, Sundazed had a staff of 15 and two mixing studios, including a vintage audio ...

label. In 2008, it was reissued in expanded format, including

, alternate mixes, and vintage live recordings, on 2-CD and 3- LP vinyl sets. Their recording "By the Sea" was sampled by the

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

space rock Space rock is a music genre characterized by loose and lengthy song structures centered on instrumental textures that typically produce a hypnotic, otherworldly sound. It may feature distorted and reverberation-laden guitars, minimal drummin ...

band

Super Furry Animals Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band formed in Cardiff in 1993. For the duration of their professional career, the band consisted of Gruff Rhys (lead vocals, guitar), Huw Bunford (lead guitar, vocals), Guto Pryce (bass guitar), Cian Ciaran ...

on a single " Hello Sunshine," which is also the opening track on the band's 2003 album ''

Phantom Power Phantom power, in the context of professional audio equipment, is DC electric power transmitted through microphone cables to operate microphones that contain active electronic circuitry. It is best known as a convenient power source for con ...

''. In 2010, French singer

Laetitia Sadier Laetitia may refer to: Mythology and religion * Laetitia (goddess), a minor Roman goddess of gaiety * One of the 16 geomantic figures, primary symbols used in divinatory geomancy Other uses * Laetitia (given name) * 39 Laetitia, an asteroid ...

of UK group

Stereolab Stereolab are an Anglo- French avant-pop band formed in London in 1990. Led by the songwriting team of Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier, the group's music combines influences from krautrock, lounge and 1960s pop music, often incorporating a repetit ...

recorded "By the Sea" for release on her album ''The Trip''. After singing guest harmony with Super Furry Animals at San Francisco's The Fillmore, New York's The Tonic and London's ICA, Wendy Flower performed (backed by Jane Weaver and

The High Llamas The High Llamas are an Anglo-Irish avant-pop band formed in London circa 1991. They were founded by singer-songwriter Sean O'Hagan, formerly of Microdisney, with drummer Rob Allum and ex-Microdisney bassist Jon Fell. O'Hagan has led the group si ...

) as one of the Lost Ladies of Folk at the 2007,

Jarvis Cocker Jarvis Branson Cocker (born 19 September 1963) is an English musician and radio presenter. As the founder, frontman, lyricist and only consistent member of the band Pulp, he became a figurehead of the Britpop genre of the mid-1990s. Following P ...

-curated Meltdown Festival. She sang on Weaver's ''Fallen By Watchbird'' album and, in 2013, released her own

indie-pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and su ...

album, ''New.'' Bonnie Flower died at the age of 63 on November 15, 2017.

References

External links

Wendy Flower personal websiteWendy and Bonnie CD
at Sundazed Records {{DEFAULTSORT:Wendy and Bonnie American musical duos Musical groups from San Francisco Psychedelic rock music groups from California Sibling duos Skye Records artists