Janice Marie Johnson &
A Taste Of Honey - THEN
GROUP MEMBERS
Janice Marie Johnson - Bass
Perry Kibble - Keyboards
Hazel Payne - Guitar
Don Johnson - Drums
Part One
It was around late March/early April of 1978 & I was cutting my teeth as a club DJ. Disco was in full effect & we were loving it. Along came a song that had a busy bassline, some tasty guitar licks & a groove that wouldn't quit. The lead singer had a smoky quality to her voice & the musicianship was superb. Above all else, the bassline stood out. OHHH....THAT BASSLINE!!!
That bassline served as a clarion call to the dance floor & dance, we did. The music was infectious & the singing was excellent. When we finally saw A Taste Of Honey, some of us almost fell on the floor when we saw two women manning the guitars. Few of us had ever saw two women playing bass & lead guitar & playing them well at that! This was before the days of Klymaxx & The Go-Gos, this was something very new for most of us & it was mesmerizing!
"Boogie Oogie Oogie" was a MONSTER hit, catapulting A Taste Of Honey into the Disco stratosphere. It peaked at #1 on both the R&B & Pop charts, riding atop the Pop charts for 3 weeks. It was certified Platinum, becoming the first single ever to sell Platinum in Capitol Records history. A feat not accomplished by Capitol Records legends such as, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Nat King Cole, or daughter, Natalie. Simply stated, their rise was meteoric.
That was our introduction to Janice Marie Johnson & Hazel Payne. For my part, I fell in love with Janice's low, smoky voice, her vocals were unique & suited her style to the "T". Hazel sang in a higher register & I thought that the different nuances of their voices complimented one another perfectly.
Not only did these ladies handle their business on guitar, they were also GORGEOUS! It was impossible to ignore that & along with Perry Kibble (keyboards) & Don Johnson (drums), A Taste Of Honey became a group to watch out for in the future.
Though their second single, "Disco Dancin'" stalled at #69 R&B, while failing to chart Pop altogether, primarily due to the massive "Boogie Oogie Oogie, their eponymously titled LP was certified Platinum as well. The LP featured 2 pretty ballads: a re-make of Jermaine Jacksons', "You're In Good Hands Now" & the gorgeous "If We Loved". The LP also featured 2 nice mellow songs, "Sky High" & "World Spin" & the very danceable, "Distant".
Altogether, it was a solid debut effort, peaking at # 2 (for 8 weeks) & # 6 respectively on the R&B & Pop Album charts. Primarily on the strength of the phenomenal "Boogie Oogie Oogie", A Taste Of Honey became only the second R&B artists to win a Grammy for "Best New Artist", which was accomplished just a few years earlier by their label mate, Natalie Cole.
L To R: Perry Kibble, Janice Marie Johnson, Hazel Payne & Don Johnson
However, along with A Taste Of Honey, there was a taste of bitter with the sweet. For some reason, the powers-that-be at Capitol Records depicted the group as a duo of Janice Marie & Hazel, while omitting the images of Perry & Don from the front cover of the LP. In actuality, Capitol originally had wanted to sign the girls as a duo & this LP cover proved to be a portent of what was to come.
ON TO A TASTE OF HONEY - PART TWO
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