Caron Melina Wheeler[1] OBE (born 19 January 1963) is a British singer, songwriter, record producer and musician.

Born and raised in London, she performed in various singing competitions as a teenager and began her recording career as one of the founding members of Brown Sugar.

One (1989), which established them as a global success worldwide, earned two Grammy Awards and featured the UK and Billboard number-one singles "Keep On Movin'" and "Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)".

Described as a pioneer of the British soul scene, her musical repertoire is often characterized by themes of love, relationships, and empowerment, as well as black history.

[4] When Caron was in high school, she and childhood friend Pauline Catlin began performing together for fun.

In 1976, Wheeler and Catlin eventually entered and won a singing competition at the Bali Hai nightclub in London.

Catlin and Wheeler later added Carol Simms and the women began performing as Brown Sugar.

[5] Their self-titled album was scheduled to be released in 1977, but was shelved after the group disbanded due to the mistreatment by their recording label, Lover's Rock.

Following the tour, the group released a series of singles: "Our Reggae Music", "Confession Hurts", "Dreaming of Zion", and "I am So Proud" in 1979.

In 1982, Wheeler met Claudia Fontaine, an English backing vocalist from Bethnal Green, London, England.

[6][7] The duo only performed as session vocalists for other singers, most notably for Elvis Costello on his album Punch the Clock in 1983.

The group would go on to contribute background vocals for many artists including Heaven 17, Special AKA, Howard Jones, Japan, Aswad, Sam Brown, and Julia Fordham.

The album spawned the major hits "Keep on Movin'" and "Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)", which featured Wheeler as lead vocalist and sold over one million copies worldwide each.

[8] Wheeler's second album also spawned the singles: "In Our Love", "Soul Street", and "Beach of the War Goddess".

Wheeler ultimately left the group before the release of the album, but her lead vocals were still present on the songs "Ride On" and "Sunday".

In 2001, Wheeler recorded the song "Open" with Pete Rock on the American hip hop production team Da Beatminerz's album Brace 4 Impak.

The album was recorded in Tokyo, Japan, and features live performances of her songs with various collaborators, including her musical director at the time, Maximina Juson, Da Beatminerz, and others.

Wheeler was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2023 Birthday Honours for services to music.