En Vogue is one of the greatest vocal groups of all time. Hailing from Oakland, California, the original lineup consisted of four talented singers: Terry Ellis, Dawn Robinson, Cindy Herron, and Maxine Jones. 35 years later, with Rhona Bennett, a member since 2003, the group is celebrating its anniversary.
Appearing on The Jennifer Hudson Show, the group knew they had something organic and hoped to share their gifts with the world.
“We knew we had something special. We just didn’t know that it was going to take off. We felt the chemistry. We just didn’t know if it was going to succeed,” Herron said.
Hudson then asked how the group came up with its name.
“We put some names in a pot, and we settled on the name Vogue. Then, of course, we couldn’t use Vogue because of the Vogue magazine, “Ellis said. “And there was a group called The Vogues. So our producers came up with the idea to add the “En”, and we loved it.”
Jones, who returned her to the group in 2025 after a long hiatus, shared excitement about being back on with the ladies.
Amazingly, the group’s classic first single “Hold On” was almost shelved by the label.
“Well, “Hold On” was our first single, but the label didn’t love it. They didn’t think it was a radio song, but our producer fought for it to get released as a single,” Herron recalled. “The label decided to service radio with “Hold On”, without the acapella, but somehow radio discovered the acapella. And that was the song that caught on, and it just took off overnight. This was the journey.”