Dionne Farris came to the attention of the music world with her vocal contributions to
Arrested Development's breakthrough hit single "Tennessee," plus other tracks on the group's 1992 debut.
Farris started singing in high school, performing in her school's choir in Bordentown, New Jersey, and starring in a production of
Annie. From there, she sang on Manhattan's club circuit, both solo and with a female vocal group called
Onyx, but grew frustrated in her late teens. She moved to Atlanta to live with her father in 1990 and started dating drummer
Rasha Don, an early member of
Arrested Development. The group was looking for a female singer, and while joining a band didn't fit
Farris's plans, she had nothing better to do.
Farris was never really an official member of
Arrested Development, characterizing herself more as part of its extended family. After "Tennessee" broke,
Farris got enough media attention to cause personal conflicts with bandleader
Speech, and she split from the group in 1993. Chrysalis,
Arrested Development's record company, was willing to offer her a solo deal, but
Farris took a gamble and rejected it, hoping for more artistic control than Chrysalis wanted to give her. She contacted former members of funk-rock band
Follow For Now,
David Harris and
Milton Davis, and she and guitarist
Harris began to collaborate on material. Her demo made its way to Sony Music, and her solo debut, Wild Seed -- Wild Flower, was released in the summer of 1994, spawning the hit single "I Know." ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
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For Truth If Not Love
I Know