- Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam
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"Lisa Lisa" redirects here. For the manga character, see Lisa Lisa (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure).
Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam Origin New York City, New York, United States Genres Pop
Freestyle
R&BYears active 1984–present Labels Columbia
Pendulum
Mass AppealMembers Lisa "Lisa Lisa" Velez
Alex "Spanador" Moseley
Mike HughesLisa Lisa (born Lisa Velez, January 15, 1966)[1] and her band Cult Jam were an urban contemporary band and one of first freestyle music groups to emerge from New York City in the 1980s. Cult Jam consisted of guitarist/bassist Alex "Spanador" Moseley, and drummer/keyboardist Mike Hughes. They were assembled and produced by Full Force.
Contents
History
Velez is of Puerto Rican descent and grew up in New York City but attended high school at North Miami Senior High School in North Miami Beach, Fl, where she was raised by her step mother and her father Will Garcia. The group released their debut album Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force in 1985. She was signed by Columbia Records and the label leased their single "I Wonder If I Take You Home" to the European division of CBS Records for the compilation album Breakdancing. Stateside club DJs began playing the single from the import LP, and thus the U.S. division of CBS, Columbia Records, released the record. It quickly became a chart-topper on Billboard's Hot Dance/Disco chart. It then crossed over to the R&B chart where it peaked at #6, and then to the pop chart, peaking at #34 in summer 1985. The single eventually went gold.
"I Wonder If I Take You Home" was followed by another club hit, "Can You Feel the Beat", which also went to #40 on the R&B chart in late 1985. A sampling of the lyrics of this song would later be used by Nina Sky for their hit single "Move Ya Body" in 2004. Their third single, the ballad "All Cried Out", also went gold, going to number #3 R&B and #8 pop in summer 1986. "All Cried Out" was later covered by Allure in 1997 and was a hit in 1998. Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force went platinum.[2]
Their second album, Spanish Fly, was a huge success in 1987. It spawned two #1 pop hits, "Head to Toe" and "Lost in Emotion", both of which went gold and both of which sported a retro Motown flavor mixed with the Freestyle sound they were known for. "Head to Toe" also parked at #1 R&B for two weeks, and with its strong Mary Wells influence, "Lost in Emotion" did as well. Spanish Fly went platinum, peaking at #7 on the album chart. Other singles from the album were the ballad "Someone to Love Me for Me" b/w "Spanish Fly" (#7 R&B), "Everything Will B-Fine" (#9 R&B).[2]
In between albums they released "Go For Yours," which was featured in the movie Caddyshack II and is found on its soundtrack exclusively.
1989's Straight to the Sky was a moderate hit that included the Top 30 pop/#3 R&B single, "Little Jackie Wants to Be a Star", as well as the club hit "Just Git It Together". Two decades later, their hit song would inspire the name of the group Little Jackie.
Their fourth and final album, Straight Outta Hell's Kitchen, was less of a commercial success, though it did include a hit with "Let the Beat Hit 'Em", which reached the pop Top 40 and was a #1 hit on both the R&B and club charts. The group disbanded in 1991. Velez pursued both solo and acting careers, and Moseley and Hughes went on to do other projects.
Lisa Lisa released a solo album called LL77 in 1994, which included the moderate club hit "When I Fell In Love" and the notable single "Skip To My Lu", which hit #38 on the R&B chart. She resurfaced circa 2001 on the Nickelodeon series Taina, in which she played the title character's mother.
Lisa Lisa is set to release her second solo album on Mass Appeal Entertainment, just before the summer of 2009. On June 24, Lisa Lisa was at the 2008 BET Awards presenting an award for the show.
Discography
Studio albums
Year Album Chart Positions[3] US
Certifications[4]Record Label US US
R&BUK[5] 1985 Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force 52 16 96 Platinum Columbia 1987 Spanish Fly 7 7 — Platinum 1989 Straight to the Sky 77 18 — — 1991 Straight Outta Hell's Kitchen 133 29 — — 1994 LL77 (credited as Lisa Lisa) — — — — Pendulum 2009 Life 'n Love (credited as Lisa Lisa) — — — — Mass Appeal "—" denotes the album failed to chart or was not certified Compilation albums
Year Album Chart Positions Record Label US US
R&BUK 1995 Head to Toe — — — Sony Music Lisa Lisa and Friends — — — 1996 Past, Present & Future — — — Thump 1997 Super Hits — — — Sony Music 2010 Playlist: The Very Best of Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force — — — Columbia/Legacy "—" denotes the album failed to chart Singles
Year Single Chart positions[6] US US
R&BUS
A/CUS
DanceUK[5] 1985 "I Wonder If I Take You Home" (with Full Force) 34 6 — 1 12 "Can You Feel the Beat" (with Full Force) 69 40 — 6 97 1986 "All Cried Out" (with Full Force feat. Paul Anthony & Bow Legged Lou) 8 3 — — — 1987 "Head to Toe" 1 1 — 1 82 "Lost in Emotion" 1 1 27 8 58 "Someone to Love Me for Me" (feat. Full Force) 78 7 — — — 1988 "Everything Will B-Fine" — 9 — 22 — "Go for Yours" (with Full Force) — 19 — — — 1989 "Little Jackie Wants to Be a Star" 29 3 — — 90 "Just Git It Together" — 16 — 7 — "Kiss Your Tears Away" — 26 — — — 1991 "Let the Beat Hit 'Em" 37 1 — 1 17 "Let the Beat Hit 'Em (Part 2)" — — — — 49 "Where Were You When I Needed You" — 65 — — — 1993 "Skip to My Lu" (credited as Lisa Lisa) 105 38 — — 34 1994 "When I Fell in Love" (credited as Lisa Lisa) — 96 — 28 — "—" denotes the single failed to chart See also
- List of number-one hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
References
- ^ [1]
- ^ a b Billboard.com
- ^ "Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam US album chart history". billboard.com. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/lisa-lisa-p4760/charts-awards. Retrieved 2011-01-28.
- ^ "Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam US certification history". riaa.com. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH_RESULTS&artist=Lisa%20Lisa%20and%20Cult%20Jam&format=Album&go=Search&perPage=25. Retrieved 2011-01-28.
- ^ a b "Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam UK chart history". chartstats.com. http://www.chartstats.com/search.php?q=lisa+lisa. Retrieved 2011-01-28.
- ^ "Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam US singles chart history". billboard.com. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/lisa-lisa-p4760/charts-awards/billboard-singles. Retrieved 2011-01-28.
External links
- Lisa Lisa official website
- Lisa Lisa at Allmusic
- Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam at the Internet Movie Database
Categories:- 1966 births
- American rhythm and blues musical groups
- American dance music groups
- Electronic music groups from New York
- American house music groups
- Freestyle musicians
- Musical groups established in 1985
- Musical groups disestablished in 1991
- American people of Puerto Rican descent
- Living people
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