The Chynna Syndrome

 

 

After recording two extremely successful albums with friends Carnie and Wendy Wilson, Wilson Phillips' record label got greedy and wanted to turn the group's focal point -- Chynna Phillips -- into the next Belinda Carlisle. The result was 1995's "Naked and Sacred," which tanked big time and sent Phillips into retirement for a decade before returning with her former band for the covers collection "California." While Phillips solo album wasn't very good -- her thin voice was clearly better suited to be blended with her friends -- the title track was fantastic. (I remember when she appeared on David Letterman and he introduced the song as "Naked and Scared," a mistake he later explained resulted from his thinking about his wedding night!) Three years later, however, British singer Maria Nayler remade the song as more of a dance track and took it to No. 32 on the U.K. singles chart, a small vindication for the hit that should have been.