The group was founded by sisters June and Jean Millington (on guitar and bass respectively), who had been playing music together since they moved from the Philippines to California in the early 1960s.

After playing through several variations of the band, they attracted the interest of producer Richard Perry who signed them to Reprise Records in 1969 as Fanny.

The Millington sisters have continued to play music together since the split, and with a former drummer, Brie Howard-Darling, formed the spin-off group Fanny Walked the Earth in 2018.

[3][4][5][6] Frustrated by a lack of success or respect in the male-dominated rock scene, Wild Honey decided to disband after one final open-mic appearance at the Troubadour Club in Los Angeles in 1969.

[3] Prior to recording their first album, the band recruited keyboardist Nickey Barclay while bringing in early Svelts member Brie Brandt.

[7] The initial lineup consisted of June on guitar, Jean on bass, de Buhr on drums, Barclay on keyboards, and Brandt on lead vocals and percussion.

[12] Because of the connection to Perry and Reprise Records, Barclay was invited to tour with Joe Cocker as a backing singer, and consequently appeared on the album Mad Dogs and Englishmen.

[3] With young engineer Leslie Ann Jones as their road manager and live sound mixer,[18] Fanny toured worldwide, opening for Slade, Jethro Tull and Humble Pie,[9] gaining widespread popularity in the United Kingdom.

[19] The group made several live television appearances during tours, including The Sonny and Cher Show, American Bandstand, The Old Grey Whistle Test and Beat-Club.

The latter featured regular Rolling Stones saxophonist Bobby Keys, and was released as a single, reaching number 85 on the Billboard Hot 100.

[23] Rolling Stone wrote a rave review of the album, praising the group's musical skills and particularly June's ability to play both lead and rhythm guitar.

[25] Brandt left the band shortly after the album's completion when she married composer James Newton Howard, and was briefly replaced by Cam Davis.

[26] Concurrently, the album's second single, "Butter Boy", written by Jean about Bowie, became their biggest hit, reaching number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 1975.

[4] June subsequently released three solo albums in the 1980s and has had a career as a producer for artists including Holly Near, Cris Williamson and Bitch and Animal.

De Buhr later worked in marketing for several major record labels, and promoted the Go-Go's, who cited Fanny as an influence.

A reunion concert featuring the Millington sisters and de Buhr (Barclay declined to appear for health reasons) was held at Berklee College of Music on April 20, 2007,[9] where the band members received the ROCKRGRL Women of Valor award for their achievements.

[46] Fanny was not the first all-female rock band to sign with a major label, coming after Goldie and the Gingerbreads and the Pleasure Seekers.

[13][32] Jean later said that Fanny had to have a strong live presence in order to overcome audience's perceptions that women could not play rock music well.

[42] A retrospective review of the group's career in Rebeat stressed that Fanny were simply a good band, irrespective of gender.