This Harmonious 1990 Pop No. 1, Wilson Phillips' Second Smash Of The Year, Hit The Top 36 Years Ago Today
On September 16, 1990, "Release Me" began its second as the No. 1 song in the country. That single was the second of the year to top the chart for Wilson Phillips, a soft rock vocal trio celebrated for its otherworldly harmonies as much as the lineage of its members. The story of the Beach Boys is intertwined with that of fellow harmonizers the Mamas and the Papas. Decades after the Mamas and the Papas released "California Dreamin'," the Beach Boys gave it a second life. And about half a decade after that, the children of members of both bands succeeded with music vocally reminiscent of that of their parents, which also had a distinctive early '90s soft rock sheen. The "Wilson" in Wilson Phillips refers to Wendy and Carnie Wilson, daughters of Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys; the "Phillips" is Chynna Phillips, whose parents are John and Michelle Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas.
Wilson Phillips was a cultural sensation. Featuring the perfectly meshing voices of two siblings and their lifelong friend (in the harmony, Wendy usually took the high part, Chynna the mid, and Carnie the lower side), their first, self-titled album from 1990 sold 5 million copies and earned a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. It generated five Top 15 hits, including three chart-toppers. Following "Hold On," "Release Me" ascended to the top spot on the Hot 100 in September 1990.
Wilson Phillips was born from the wake of multiple important '60s bands
Wendy and Carnie Wilson and Chynna Phillips sang together as children but gave it a professional try in the late 1980s at the behest of Owen Elliott, the daughter of Mamas and the Papas singer Cass Elliott; she wanted to record a drug avoidance song with other offspring of '60s stars. Instead, the four vocalists auditioned for a producer, and after realizing that Elliott's voice was a poor match, she was let go, reducing the group to three. They found an ally in songwriter and producer Glen Ballard, who also oversaw Alanis Morissette's blockbuster "Jagged Little Pill," a rock album that defined the '90s. Ballard supported the trio's goal to make harmonic soft rock like "Release Me," cut for the demo tape that got Wilson Phillips signed to SBK Records.
The harmonies go together so precisely that there wasn't much that Ballard needed to do. "It's that three-part harmony wall-to-wall, and it sounds like one voice," the producer and arranger said in "The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits." "It's so tight and textured — that's my favorite thing that they've done." With studio musicians on hand, "Release Me" was recorded live, and in one take.
Executives at SBK also sensed the palpable magic in "Release Me," and planned to make it the debut Wilson Phillips single. The label opted for "Hold On" instead, but ultimately it was a happy wash. Both "Hold On" and "Release Me" climbed to No. 1 in 1990.