Thursday, March 28, 2024

Shanice Wilson’s Mother & Aunt (Crystal Penny) Headline Valentines Wknd Concert

Crystal Penny - Valentines - Original

*Most contemporary music fans know all about singer Shanice Wilson from her signature hit single “I Like Your Smile” and the OWN reality show “Flex and Shanice.”

On the other hand, you might not know about Shanice’s mother and aunt and their group called Crystal Penny. And trust us, as great a singer as Shanice is, her mother, Crystal Wilson, and aunt, Penni Wilson, are no joke either. After all, where do you think Shanice gets her chops from?

Here’s some good news for Crystal Penny fans. As you no doubt know, this coming weekend is Valentine’s Weekend and Crystal Penny will be showcasing their talents and bringing lots of love to the Miracle Theater in Inglewood, CA on Saturday night, February 15 at 7pm.

We’ll have more about Crystal Penny’s Valentine’s show shortly. But if you’re curious about Crystal and Penni Wilson, we got the good, bad and ugly that highlights the ups and downs, the ins and outs of their career that quite frankly, illustrates the dark side of the music business.

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Crystal and Penni (vertical) - IMG_3970
Crystal (bottom) and Penni (top) Wilson

Crystal Penny, originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is comprised of a dynamic duo of sisters Crystal and Penni Wilson, later joined by Crystal’s husband Michael Blackmon. Performing since their teens, their perfectly blended harmonies have appeared on many recordings, including on late maestro Barry White’s classic hit “Practice What You Preach.”  They also have either graced the stage or recorded with Maurice White, Gerald Alston, Lou Rawls, The Emotions, Curtis Mayfield and Diana Ross.

As we said up top, Crystal’s daughter is the mega-successful artist Shanice Wilson and they have also appeared on Shanice’s reality show, “Flex and Shanice,” on the Oprah Winfrey Network.

The sisters can be heard in collaboration with Shanice on the gospel song “Searching” on the Grammy-nominated, “Motown Comes Home CD.” The Wilson sisters also spent a lot of time listening, as youngsters, to a certain legendary singer.

“Crystal and I used to listen to Dionne Warwick records, all day long,” laughed Penni Wilson. “We used to get on our knees and pick out those harmonies.”

However, the two sisters have navigated extremely difficult waters. Indeed, there are many stories of amazing artists that have come to Los Angeles, only have their dreams dashed against the sunny sands of Los Angeles.

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The talented ensemble came to Los Angeles with their ship directed to stardom. Crystal ultimately returned to Pittsburgh and brought her daughter, Shanice to California, who first joined them on stage at the tender age of six. Later the dynamic R & B group had the opportunity of signing to one of the premier labels of the Black community, Motown. Around the same time, Shanice was also signed and became a huge star. But success eluded the duo.

“We were fortunate enough to get her launched,” said Penni Wilson.

“We kept doing our thing and intermittently continued to perform and sometimes we did her backing vocals and sometimes she would join us at our shows.”

Crystal Penny, then known as Krystal Penny, signed a record deal, but as many artists have discovered, signing a record deal is no guarantee of success.

“It was so heartbreaking,” said Penni Wilson, “when Motown refused to release our record, my sister and I were literally depressed for a long time … to the extent that we didn’t leave our house for weeks. It was horrible. All your life you dream for something, you finally get it, and someone snatches it away.”

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Additionally, the duo refused to compromise their character to succeed in the music industry- their strong moral upbringing dictating otherwise.

“We have a lot of integrity- doing things we could have done that we chose not to do-because sometimes in the entertainment industry, you have to sell your soul and we weren’t willing to do that.”

Although a devastating prospect, the ladies were undeterred, knowing that their talent and amazing harmonies would get them through. They got a reputation for their singing and garnered respect from several amazing artists, including one of music’s biggest legends.

“We even did a background session for Diana Ross, on her record, ‘You Make Me So Very Happy,’” said Penni.  Crystal Penny refused to let their travails get in the way of their considerable gifts.

“Through my faith and through my mother, who was very influential in our lives and traveled the world with Shanice, we were able to grow past that and to understand that the gifts we had were to share and bless people,” said Penni, “and just being thankful for it and maybe make some money along the way.”

crystal penny valentines show

OK, as we said up top, Crystal and Penny (and Michael) have a show coming up this Valentine’s Day weekend (this Saturday, Feb 15), where their talents will be on full display.

“When we come on, we’re going to come out with a lot of love and a lot of positivity with beautiful harmonies to show that love and share it with the audience,” said Penni Wilson. Indeed, the resilience of these lovely ladies will inspire others that you can navigate life’s difficult waters with beautiful harmonies.

Crystal Penny’s magnificent harmonies will be on full display, after a long hiatus at the Miracle Inglewood Theater, on February 15, 2020, “A Night of Love and Harmony,” at 7pm, 226 S. Market St. Inglewood, California 90301. For tickets call Isadore at (323) 351-7662 or visit www.ticketweb.com.

Shanice
Shanice

Oh yeah, there’s this. Penni reminds us that Shanice has a lipstick line out! To purchase or get more info, click here: www.SmileByShanice.com or e-mail [email protected].

Follow Crystal Penny on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CrystalPennyMusic/

Purchase Crystal Penny music here:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/crystal-penny/1150426193
https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Belongs-You-Crystal-Penny/dp/B01L7R5JF0

Buddy Sampson
Buddy Sampson

Buddy Sampson is a Southern California based writer. Contact him via [email protected].

 

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