Monday May 9, 2022 “Hold On” Wilson Phillips
Received an email from song of the dayer Michael who reminded me of a cool tune from the 80s sung by the child of a rock legend and it revived my interest in doing a week of offspring of famous musicians who have themselves become musical stars. That may be the longest song of the week title so far.We’ll start our week with a two-fer so to speak, Wilson Phillips. This trio was composed of Wendy and Carnie Wilson, daughters of Beach Boy Brian Wilson and Chynna Phillips the daughter of John and Michelle Phillips of the Mamas & the Papas.
In 1986, at age 19, Chynna Phillips was just trying to get well. She had struggled with drug and alcohol addiction throughout high school and as the trio were creating their sound, learning how to turn beautiful harmonies into thoughtful, original songs, she was seeking help.
Wilson-Phillips producer was songwriter Glen Ballard, who would later produce the blockbuster, multi-Grammy winning Alanis Morissette Jagged Little Pill album, and he had a melody that needed lyrics. Something about the tune caught Chynna Phillips’ imagination as well as her circumstances and she went home and wrote the lyrics for “Hold On”.
The song would be the first single released from the 1990 Wilson Phillips eponymous debut album which with its fine tunes and remarkable harmonies would sell over 10 million copies worldwide and include five major US hit singles, three of which, including today’s song, would go to number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
Stay safe and well…and Chynna Phillips has said that the inspiration for her lyrics was the AA philosophy of ‘one day at a time.’