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:

Disco LadyJohnnie Taylor

The first #1 hit with the word "disco" in the title wasn't a disco song. It was an R&B song called "Disco Lady" by Johnnie Taylor in 1976. The lady he's singing about is disco, but the song isn't.

YesterdayThe Beatles

The melody to "Yesterday" came to Paul McCartney in a dream, but the lyrics he had to write consciously. His first attempt at the title was "Scrabble Eggs."

Crazy In LoveBeyoncé

Jay-Z did the rap on Beyoncé's "Crazy In Love" at the last minute. They had just started dating; she asked him to feature on the track the night before she had to turn in her album.

The first version of The Beatles' "Helter Skelter" was a 27-minute jam, so you can imagine what Ringo was going through pounding away on drums. To convince the guys he needed a break, he screamed, "I've got blisters on my fingers!" This was included on the fadeout.

Thinking About YouCalvin Harris

"Thinking About You" was the ninth track from Calvin Harris' 18 Months album to enter the UK singles Top 10. No other artist has obtained so many hits from one LP - Michael Jackson was the previous record holder with seven Top 10 tunes from both his Bad and Dangerous sets.