Want Ads by Honey Cone

About

“Want Ads” is the lead single from Honey Cone’s second album Sweet Replies and it’s also featured on their fourth album Soulful Tapestry. The song was written by Greg Perry (who produced the song), Barney Perkins and General Norman Johnson. The idea for the song began when a studio engineer named Barney Perkins while he was looking through the classified section of a newspaper and suggested that someone should write a song about want ads & Greg Perry thought that the idea might work. The two of them brought in General Norman Johnson (who was a member of the soul band Chairmen of the Board back in the day) to contribute to the songwriting after he co-wrote the song “Somebody’s Been Sleeping in My Bed” with Greg Perry for the music group 100 Proof (Aged in Soul). The song was first recorded by music act Glass Act (which was led by Scherrie Payne, the sister of singer Freda Payne and former co-lead singer of The Supremes in the ‘70s). Scherrie disliked the song & Greg disliked the song, so she & Freda recorded the song themselves, but after she was unsatisifed with the second version, she suggested that Edna Wright (the lead singer of Honey Cone) record the song after she passed through the studio. The song’s original title was called “Stick Up,” but they later re-wrote it with a change in chord progressions & new lyrics. The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Soul Singles charts in 1971. It was later certified Gold, selling more than 1 million units in the United States.