In 1977, Hendryx released her first solo album, a self-titled collection. A blend of soul and hard rock, it contained notable tracks such as "Winning" (later recorded by Santana) and the ballad "Leaving Here Today". It quickly disappeared from the shelves, and Hendryx was dropped from Epic. Subsequently, she recorded four singles for Arista (London), which also did not achieve chart success. She did find success doing session work during this period, most notably providing background vocals for Talking Heads and touring with them, appearing first at the major Heatwave festival in August 1980. She contributed the song "Checkmate" on Dusty Springfield's album "It Begins Again" in 1978 (the first of Springfield's multiple attempts at a comeback).