Honey & the Bees were a girl group from Philadelphia who had a hit in 1971 with "It's Gonna Take A Miracle". Two of the members of the group would later become part of The Ritchie Family.

Background According to one source, the group began as The Yum Yums.Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia - Jimmy Bishop, Honey They began in 1965 and recorded a single "Two Can Play the Same Game" bw "Inside O' Me" which was released on the Academy label. The A side was written by Phil Hurtt. Not long after the single was released, the singers on the record had disappeared. With Hurtt keeping that sound in mind, he revived the name a year later with a different line up. This new line up consisted of Jean Davis, Nadine Felder, Gwendolyn Oliver and Cassandra Ann Wooten.Girl Groups: Fabulous Females Who Rocked the World, By John Clemente - Page 28 HONEY AND THE BEES

The group is remembered for their revival of The Royalettes hit, "It's Gonna Take a Miracle". Produced for them by Jimmy Bishop, it became a hit for them in 1971.Rock's Backpages - Blues & Soul, January 1972 - Honey and The Bees, John AbbeyCashboxmagazine.com - The CASH BOX R&B Top 60, Week ending OCTOBER 9, 1971

A couple of sources point to Fannie Lee Cobb of Fannie & the Varcels having a connection to the original line up.AllMusic - Fannie & the Varcels, Biography by Andrew HamiltonSoundHound - Fannie & the Varcels Other members of the first line up were allegedly Rita Graves and Lulu Martin.

Career By May 1, 1965, a single "Two Can Play the Same Game" bw "Inside O' Me" was released on Academy 114. Credited to Honey & the Bees, it was given a four star rating in Billboard's May 1 issue, Spotlight Winners of the Week Pop section.Global Dog Productions - 45 Discography for Academy Records45Cat - Honey And The Bees (Academy) - DiscographyBillboard, May 1, 1965 - Page 47 SPOTLIGHT WINNERS OF THE WEEK The singers on the record were not Jean Davis, Nadine Felder, Gwendolyn Oliver or Cassandra Ann Wooten. They were Fannie Lee Cobb, Rita Graves and Lulu Martin.

New line up With the new line up of Davis, Felder, Oliver and Wooten, they began their association with Arctic Records in 1966 and recorded a Kenny Gamble song, "One Time is Forever".Girl Groups: Fabulous Females Who Rocked the World, By John Clemente - Page 28 HONEY AND THE BEES

In 1970, their manager Jimmy Bishop moved them over to the Josie label.Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia - Jimmy Bishop, Honey

In 1971, their single "We Got to Stay Together" was released on Josie 1028. Listed in the April 17 issue of Cashbox in their single reviews Picks of the Week section, it was said that it was certain to gain R&B action and pick up Top 40 momentum.Cash Box, April 17, 1971 - Page 20 cash box / singles reviews Picks of the Week The same year they had a hit with "It's Gonna Take a Miracle".Girl Groups: Fabulous Females Who Rocked the World, By John Clemente - Page 30 HONEY AND THE BEESCashboxmagazine.com - The CASH BOX R&B Top 60, Week ending OCTOBER 9, 1971 After that they recorded two more singles which were released on the Bell label. The singles failed to make an impression and the group disbanded.Girl Groups: Fabulous Females Who Rocked the World, By John Clemente - Page 30 HONEY AND THE BEES

Later years At some stage Cassandra Ann Wooten and Nadine Felder were asked to come to New York to do some background vocals on a song. Jacques Morali and Patrick Adams were co-producing the song. Morali said to them that if he ever were to put a girl group together then they would be called. And two years later he did call but by that time Felder had lost interest in doing secular music.First Ladies of Disco: 32 Stars Discuss the Era and Their Singing Careers, By James Arena - Page 176 The Ritcie Family 1975-1978 Later Gwendolyn Oliver and Cassandra Ann Wooten joined with Cheryl Mason-Jacks to become The Ritchie Family.Soul Walking - the ritchie family Wooten would also be part of Cas Mijac.Album Liner Notes - Double Fantasy (1980)

Gwen Oliver died on November 27, 2020, at age 71.Soul Jazz & Funk, DECEMBER 17, 2020 - GWENDOLYN OLIVER WESLEY DIES…. BY BILL BUCKLEYSoul Tracks, 16 Dec 2020 - R.I.P. The Ritchie Family singer Gwendolyn Oliver Wesley

Discography + Singles Act Release Catalogue Year Notes # Honey & the Bees "Inside O' Me" / "Two Can Play the Same Game" Academy 114 1965 Different line upGirl Groups: Fabulous Females Who Rocked the World, By John Clemente - Page 31 HONEY AND THE BEES DISCOGRAPHY, 45sGirl Groups: Fabulous Females Who Rocked the World, By John Clemente - Page 28 HONEY AND THE BEESconsisting ofFannie Lee Cobb, Rita Graves, Lulu Martin. The Yum Yums "Looky, Looky" / "Gonna Be A Big Thing" ABC Records 45-10697 1965 Discogs - The Yum Yums, Discography Honey & the Bees "I'm Confessin'" / "One Time Is Forever" Arctic 118 1966 Honey & the Bees "Love Addict" / "I'll Be There" Arctic 149 1969 Honey & the Bees "Together Forever" / "Dynamite Exploded" Arctic 152 1969 Honey & the Bees "Sunday Kind of Love / "Do That Thing" Artic 158 1969 Honey & the Bees "Jing Jing A Ling" / "Auld Lang Syne" North bay 303 1969 Honey & the Bees "Jing Jing A Ling" / "Auld Lang Syne" Chess 2088 1969 Honey & the Bees "Make Love to Me" / "Please Have Mercy baby" Josie 1017 1970 Honey & the Bees "Help Me (Get Over My Used to Be Lover)" / "Please Have Mercy Baby" Josie 1020 1970 Honey & the Bees "Make Love to Me baby" / "People Need Each Other" Josie 1023 1970 Honey & the Bees "Come Get It" / "Love Can Turn to Hate" Josie 1025 1970 Honey & the Bees "We Got to Stay Together" / "Help Me (Get Over My Used to Be Lover)" Josie 1028 1971 Honey & the Bees "It's Gonna Take a Miracle" / "What About Me" Josie 1030 1971 Honey & the Bees "That's What Boys Are Made For" / "Has Somebody Taken My Place" Bell 217 1972 Honey & the Bees "Leave Me Alone" / "Song for Jim" Bell 299 1972 Girl Groups: Fabulous Females Who Rocked the World, By John Clemente - Page 31 HONEY AND THE BEES DISCOGRAPHY, 45s

+ Albums Act Release Catalogue Year Notes # Honey & the Bees Love Josie JOS 4013 1970 LPGirl Groups: Fabulous Females Who Rocked the World, By John Clemente - Page 31 HONEY AND THE BEES DISCOGRAPHY, LPs Honey & the Bees Dynamite! Jamie 4009Philly Original Soul Classics – Volume 2 1999 CD Compilation Honey & the Bees Come Get It - The Complete Josie Recordings 1970-1971 Westside WESM 614 2000 CD Compilation UKDiscogs - Honey & the Bees, Discography, Compilations Honey & the Bees Love Parlophone WPCR 27708 2014 CD (Japan)CD release of 1970 albumDiscogs - Honey And The Bees, Albums

References

Further reading Girl Groups: Fabulous Females Who Rocked the World, HONEY AND THE BEES By John Clemente