| Honey Ltd. | |
| Landscape: | no |
| Origin: | Detroit, Michigan, |
| Genre: | Pop, psychedelic pop |
| Years Active: | 1968-1970 |
| Label: | LHI Records |
| Past Members: | Laura Polkinghorne Marsha Temmer Alexandra Sliwin Joan Sliwin |
Honey Ltd. were an American 1960s girl group consisting of sisters Alexandra and Joan Sliwin, Laura Polkinghorne and Marsha Temmer.
The group members began singing with each other at Wayne State University. They formed the Mama Cats and began performing in local venues with other Detroit-based musicians like Bob Seger (who wrote both sides of their first single), Glenn Frey and Suzi Quatro. The group relocated to Los Angeles, where they auditioned for producer Lee Hazlewood, who signed them immediately and took them to the studio to record with backing from the famed Wrecking Crew. He would later rename them Honey Ltd.[1]
Frey was the boyfriend of bandmember Joan Sliwin and followed her to Los Angeles. He was introduced to J.D. Souther by Joan's sister and bandmate, Alexandra Sliwin.
The group did not achieve widespread commercial success and only released one album. Their version of Laura Nyro's Eli's Comin' was well received but was eclipsed by Three Dog Night's version released a few months later.[2] In 1969 the group joined Bob Hope on a USO tour and headed to Thailand and Vietnam to perform for the troops. Television appearances in 1968-1969 included The Ed Sullivan Show, The Joey Bishop Show, Kraft Music Hall, The Jerry Lewis Show, The Andy Williams Show, Operation: Entertainment, and The Bob Hope Christmas Special: Around the World with the USO.[3] [4]
By 1970 Alexandra Sliwin had dropped out of the group to marry Souther. The remaining members continued as a trio with a name change to Eve. The new group released another album that went unnoticed and were subsequently dropped by LHI. They split up shortly after and went on to varied musical careers as singers and songwriters.
Laura Creamer (née Polkinghorne) is a songwriter, vocalist, and arranger who has recorded and/or toured with Billy Joel, Bob Seger, Van Morrison, Glenn Frey, Bruce Hornsby, Kid Rock, Eric Clapton, Thomas Dolby, and many others. She is credited as a backing vocalist on multiple albums including Billy Joel's 1973 Piano Man. Her West of Detroit CD was released in 2001.
Alex Sliwin, Joan Sliwin, and Marsha Temmer were in the short-lived group Bijou with former Association members Jules Alexander and Russ Giguere, and subsequently wrote and performed with Loretta Lynn and others. Marsha Temmer Darigan continued with studio work plus a stint as a backup singer/dancer for Tina Turner. Her songwriting credits include a track for the Angel movie series and, along with Alex Sliwin, many of the songs for the "musical novel" UnderWing. The Sliwin sisters are still actively performing as Like Honey.
In 2013, a compilation CD titled Honey Ltd. - The Complete LHI Recordings was released featuring tracks recorded during the group's tenure at LHI.[5] [6] [7] The CD includes all eight songs from the first album, two songs released only as singles, and three previously unreleased songs.