4 Non Blondes Artistfacts

4 Non Blondes song list

4 Non Blondes Artistfacts

1989-1994, 2025-
Linda PerryVocals, guitar
Christa HillhouseBass
Shaunna HallGuitar1989-1992
Wanda DayDrums1989-1991
Dawn RichardsonDrums1991-1994, 2025-
Roger RochaGuitar1992-1994, 2025-
4 Non Blondes had one of the most memorable hits of the '90s: "What's Up" in 1992, the song where lead singer Linda Perry screams from the top of her lungs, "What's going on?" It ended up being their only hit, but Perry became a very successful songwriter, writing "Beautiful" for Christina Aguilera and "Get The Party Started" by Pink.
Their original lineup, the one that recorded the Bigger, Better, Faster, More album, were all openly gay women, which was unusual in 1992 when "What's Up" was a hit. Even k.d. lang and Melissa Etheridge didn't come out until the following year.
They formed in San Francisco in 1989 and had their first rehearsal set for October 17, but an earthquake at 5 p.m. local time forced them to reschedule. The San Francisco Giants were playing a home game in the World Series that night that also had to be rescheduled.
"What's Up" found many new fans a generation later and became one of the top streaming songs from the '90s - it was just the fifth song from that decade to rack up more than a billion views on YouTube.

In 2025, it got another boost when a mashup of the song with "Beez In The Trap" by Nicki Minaj took off on TikTok.
4 Non Blondes broke up in 1994 while they were working on their second album, which was shelved. Those sessions were with Alice In Chains producer Dave Jerden, and they were going well, but there was interference from above. "You've got the label coming in and poking around and listening to what you're doing, going, 'Where's the 'What's Up, Version 2,'" Christa Hillhouse told Songfacts.

The band played a reunion show in 2014, and in 2025 after their TikTok resurgence they got back together for a tour with the four members of their 1992 lineup.
They covered the Van Halen song "I'm The One" for the 1994 movie Airheads, one of the lesser-known Adam Sandler movies. In the film, Sandler, Brendan Fraser and Steve Buscemi play band members who commandeer a radio station to get their demo played.
In 1999 Linda Perry, joined by her 4 Non Blondes bandmate Christa Hillhouse on acoustic guitar, toured with Bryan Adams as his opening act. The crowd filing in had no idea who they were, so Hillhouse had some fun with it.

"I would tell them we were the Indigo Girls and we just got out of rehab," she said in a Songfacts interview. "Eventually, Linda would start playing those three chords to 'What's Up' and they'd be like, 'Oh, I didn't know that was an Indigo Girls song.'"

Comments

Be the first to comment...

More Songfacts:

RioDuran Duran

"Rio" by Duran Duran is a metaphor for America, where the band was trying to break through.

RespectAretha Franklin

Props to Aretha Franklin: her song "Respect" introduced the term "propers" as a sign of proper respect.

SongbirdKenny G

The Kenny G instrumental "Songbird" owes much of its success to VH1, which launched a year earlier and played the video to death.

Carolina In My MindJames Taylor

Before it was part of a Pink Floyd album title, James Taylor put the line "still I'm on the dark side of the moon" in his 1968 song "Carolina In My Mind." He was living in London and missing his home in North Carolina.

Handle With CareThe Traveling Wilburys

"Handle With Care" started as a George Harrison song with guest appearances by Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne, but it went so well the five of them decided to form a group - The Traveling Wilburys - and record an entire album.

LandslideFleetwood Mac

Stevie Nicks wrote "Landslide" before she joined Fleetwood Mac. She was considering going back to school when she and her boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham were asked to join the group.