Linda Perry

Born in Springfield, Massachusetts, and passing through San Diego before settling in San Francisco in the mid‑1980s, Linda Perry first gained recognition on the local rock scene as singer, guitarist and principal songwriter of 4 Non Blondes. The band worked in an alternative rock/pop rock register, driven by straightforward songwriting and a deep, instantly identifiable voice, and released the album Bigger, Better, Faster, More! in 1992, featuring the song “What’s Up?”. After the group split, Linda Perry pursued a solo career with In Flight in 1996 and After Hours in 1999, before shifting much of her activity toward writing and production. From the 2000s onward she worked across rock, pop and mainstream songwriting, notably writing or co‑writing “Get the Party Started” for Pink, “Beautiful” for Christina Aguilera and “What You Waiting For?” for Gwen Stefani. Her career also led to collaborations with Alicia Keys, Adele and Dolly Parton, and to the development of ventures such as Custard Records and later We Are Hear. Linda Perry also carried out the Deep Dark Robot project with Tony Tornay; the album 8 Songs About a Girl was released in 2011. In 2015 she was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.