How Linda Perry Rescued "What's Up?" from Imminent Failure] - Guitar | Technique

In the ’90s, Linda Perry graced the world with the enduring hit, What’s Up? during her initial stint with the band, 4 Non Blondes.

However, she did not rest on her laurels – and when she made what was, at the time, the controversial decision to leave the band, she went on to write for the likes of Christina Aguilera, Pink, and Gwen Stefani.

“That song is always gonna have its moment somewhere,” she says matter-of-factly in a new Guitar World interview.

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“Even after I die, it’s gonna continue going because it’s just that type of song. It’s relatable because the government, or people, are always fucking something up, you know?”

“When the original recording happened, it was terrible,” she recalls. “The drum sound was thin and high-pitched, the guitars were too compressed, and the solos and bass tone. My acoustic was like thin and tinny, and I hated the recording.

“There was just weird shit going on!” she adds.

Unhappy with the result, Perry decided to take matters into her own hands. “I brought the band into the The Plant studio in Sausalito [California], and said, ‘We gotta re-record this. This is terrible. I cannot allow this to happen.’

4 Non Blondes – What’s Up (Official Music Video) – YouTube

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“And when I got in there, Dawn [Richardson] had her drum set, and I listened to her kit, and mind you, I’ve never done anything like this before [worked in a studio], but I brought the engineer at The Plant, who was assisting me, and would ask questions. He was just like, ‘Listen, you can do whatever you want…’”

As soon as he gave her permission, Perry started moving things around and pretty much commanded the session.

“Roger [Rocha] was playing a black [Gibson] Les Paul through his Marshall. I had a Martin acoustic, and Christa [Hillhouse] had her Excalibur [bass] and an SVT [amp]. That was pretty much it: we recorded it, picked our take, and then the producer showed up, and I was pissed off…”

It was then that Perry was informed that a mastering engineer was booked for the next day, so things needed to be wrapped up more quickly than she had initially intended.

She continues, “So, we sat there, I sang the song down three times, added some background vocals, mixed it, and the song was done and sent in. That’s the version everybody hears, and that blew up. It’s that same version we did then.”

And for those pining for some ’90s nostalgia, 4 Non Blondes are finally releasing their long-awaited second record, while Perry is rolling out her first solo album in 25 years on May 8.