Happy birthday to Wendy Moten, born November 22, 1965.
While known principally to the general public for one big hit, the Whitney Houston-like big ballad, “Come In Out Of The Rain,” Wendy Moten has been a sought-after singer for three decades. The Memphis-born vocalist first broke out as a backing vocalist for Michael Bolton, and her reputation won for her a contract with Capitol Records, where she recorded with producer Troy Taylor (Boyz II Men, Kool & the Gang) for her successful debut album. “Come In” hit the top 5 on the AC charts in 1992 and appeared to indicate a bright future for the attractive, big voiced singer. However the follow up, Life’s What You Make It, failed to chart, resulting in her separation from Capitol. She recorded two more records in the 90s, working with talent like Carol Bayer Sager and James Ingram, but never achieved the level of success that her talent deserved.
Around the turn of the century, Moten began serving regularly as a featured vocalist on tour with Julio Iglesias. She also worked on albums by Michael McDonald, Kirk Whalum and Buddy Guy and performed off Broadway (“Mama I Want To Sing”).
In 2010, Moten teamed with pianist/producer Clay Perry and completed Tis The Season, an enjoyable holiday album that showed her to still be in fine voice. She has continued to record sporadically and is readying a new release on Woodward Avenue Records that we can’t wait to hear. In the meantime, she has become a favorite as a 2021 contestant on NBC’s The Voice.
While she has punched a lot of important tickets during her career, it is the beautiful “Come In Out of the Rain” that remains Wendy Moten’s most recognizable calling card, and it sounds as good today as back in 1992.
By Chris Rizik
