Success is sweet for members of Honey

Friday, May 10, 2002 | 9:11 a.m.

Carol Maillard has a simple theory about life's paths:

"You just keep doing what you do," the singer and actress said recently from her New York home.

"If you just keep walking forward, things come to you. They're revealed to you."

For nearly 30 years this is exactly what Sweet Honey in the Rock, the a cappella group of which Maillard is a founding member, has been doing -- walking forward.

What started out as a four-women ensemble in 1973 (from members of a Washington, D.C., black-theater company) has grown into an influential and recognized voice, speaking out on domestic violence, greed and oppression. On Sunday the group will perform at University of Nevada, Las Vegas' Artemus Ham Hall.

Accompanied only by each other's rhythms, melodies, harmonies and hand-held percussive instruments, the women have traveled the world to sing about love, politics, women's issues and African culture in America.

Their voices are rich, soulful and electrifying.

The name Sweet Honey in the Rock is derived from a parable that speaks of a land so rich that when you break open a rock, honey will flow from it.

When Bernice Johnson Reagon, the group's founder, formed the group, the first song that she taught the singers was called "Sweet Honey in the Rock."

Because of its trademark a cappella style, the group is often categorized as a gospel group or doo-wop singers, Maillard said.

However, she added, "We're so much more than all of that. Sweet Honey comes from a wide variety of musical influences. We bring everything to the table."

The group consists of five vocalists and a deaf interpreter who perform wearing African-patterned clothes and turbans. Since its inception the group has had 22 members.

In addition to Reagon and Maillard, its current vocalists are Ysaye Barnwell, Nitanju Bolade Casel and Aisha Kahlil.

Most of the songs are written by the group's members. The songs encompass jazz, reggae, African chants, spirituals, rhythm and blues, children's and folk music.

"Our messages reflect the world in the present, as (well as) in the past," Maillard said. "Our hopes are for a more democratic and conscious future."

Lyrics from their collection of songs range from topical issues such as corporate and personal greed -- "I've been thinking 'bout how to talk about greed ... Greed is a poison rising in this land. The soul of the people twisted in its command" -- to the sentimental -- "Sometime day breaks in my life. Sometime the sun shines in my life ... You are my sometime ..."

The group received a Grammy Award for its 1998 recording of "Gray Goose" on the disc "Folkways: A Vision Shared, A Tribute to Woodie Guthrie and Leadbelly."

Sweet Honey also recorded Bob Marley's "Redemption Song," on its 1998 anniversary CD "Twenty-Five."

Though the women have careers and responsibilities outside of the group -- they are teachers, writers and actors -- they still perform two to three times each month at concerts and benefits throughout the country.

The group recently collaborated with the Washington Ballet to perform "Journey Home," a production in which the ballet company interpreted the group's music.

At the time of the group's inception, the singers had no idea that the group would continue for so long, Maillard said.

"Just keep singing and see what happens," she said, reflecting on the early days.

"We try to organize our schedules for everybody's life and events coming through," she added. "Each one of us who have come in is really committed to making sure there is a Sweet Honey."