The Honeys

The Honeys were an American girl group formed in Los Angeles in 1963.[1] Their line-up consisted of Marilyn Rovell (later Marilyn Wilson-Ruthorford), her sister Diane Rovell, and their friend Ginger Blake. The group were a kind of female counterpart to the Beach Boys. Bandleader Brian Wilson served as the Honeys' record producer and chief songwriter, and later married Marilyn in late 1964. After 1969, they remained mostly inactive. In the 1970s, Marilyn and Diane formed another short-lived group, American Spring, also with participation from Wilson.

For the play by Roald Dahl, see The Honeys (play).
Not to be confused with Honeyz.

The Honeys
From left: Ginger Blake, Diane Rovell, and Marilyn Wilson
Background information
OriginLos Angeles, California, U.S.
GenresVocal surf
Years active1963–1969, 1983
LabelsCapitol, Warner
Associated actsAmerican Spring, The Beach Boys, Brian Wilson
Past membersMarilyn Wilson
Diane Rovell
Ginger Blake

Background

The Honeys (a slang term for girls or girlfriends, and specifically for female surfing enthusiast)[2] consisted of sisters Diane and Marilyn Rovell and their cousin Ginger Blake. Marilyn and Diane had met the Beach Boys when the boys performed at a Hollywood club called Pandora's Box in late 1962. Brian and Marilyn (who was still in high school) began dating, and he brought the girls into the recording studio to produce their songs ("Surfin' Down the Swanee River", "Shoot the Curl", "Pray for Surf"), and included them as backup performers on Beach Boys records. The cheerleader voices on "Be True to Your School" were performed by the Honeys, and the two groups sometimes shared the same concert bill.[3]

Career

In 1963 and 1964, the Honeys released a number of singles, with minimal to modest regional success. The songs were either written, arranged, or produced by Brian Wilson. Among their other studio work, they also sang background vocals for The Beach Boys on the hit "Be True To Your School", for Bruce Johnston on the title song from his album Surfin' 'Round The World, and for Jan and Dean on the hit singles "The New Girl In School", "Dead Man's Curve", and "The Little Old Lady from Pasadena".

The Honeys' career faded as surfing music went out of vogue. Marilyn and Brian were married and became the parents of Carnie and Wendy Wilson, who later found fame as members of Wilson Phillips. Marilyn and Diane later re-teamed as a duo called American Spring during the 1970s, also under the production eye of Brian Wilson.

During the 1990s, the Honeys reunited and performed locally around Los Angeles. An anthology CD of their music (including several American Spring recordings) also was released by Capitol Records in 1992.

On March 10, 2016, two of The Honeys participated in concert at the Coffee Gallery Backstage in Altadena, California as part of a tribute to their long-time friend and 1960s songwriting legend P.F. Sloan.

Discography

Singles
  • 1963: "Shoot the Curl"/"Surfin' Down the Swanee River"
  • 1963: "Pray for Surf"/"Hide Go Seek"
  • 1963: "The One You Can't Have"/"From Jimmy with Tears"
  • 1964: "He's a Doll"/"The Love of a Boy and a Girl"
  • 1969: "Tonight You Belong to Me"/"Goodnight, My Love"

Studio albums
  • 1983: Ecstasy
  • 1986: It's Like Heaven

Compilations

References
  1. Ankeny, Jason. "The Honeys Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
  2. Bush, John. "The Honeys Collection". allmusic.com. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
  3. Comaratta, Len (November 5, 2011). "Dusting 'Em Off: The Honeys – The '60s Singles". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.