Nona Hendryx

by Joanna Orland

Legendary musican Nona Hendryx is not an obvious household name, but most people are definitely aware of her body of work. Forging her early career as a member of Labelle (as in Patti’s girl group who sang the original LADY MARMALADE), Nona has had some iconic collaborations with artists such as Talking Heads, Stevie Wonder, Elton John and more. In addition to being a prominent singer and songwriter, Nona is also known for her social activism, speaking very openly about her stance on Human Rights.

Nona visited London in June to play 3 very special events. Loose Lips was fortunate enough to have a chat over the phone with the one and only Nona. To be honest, I was very nervous to speak to someone with such an admirable musical career. I expected a total diva as Nona has every right to be one. What I got instead was one of the nicest women I have ever had the pleasure of speaking to. I was going to write up an article about this interview, but nobody says it as good as Nona herself. I hope you enjoy listening to the interview as much as I did conducting it:

Omg I can’t believe my voice sounds like that… Did I take valium? How many times did I say “I was wondering…” But doesn’t Nona sound like such a sweetheart!? And a very interested and interesting woman on the whole.

Even though she’s had a career spanning decades, worked with the greats, is a great herself, she still struggled with our usual question of “if there is only one word that could sum you up… what would that word be?”.

Ladies and gentleman, Nona Hendryx, one talented, funky but chic, and “alive” lady.