Wendy Melvoin
(born:
January 26, 1964)
is an American rock guitarist
and singer-songwriter best known
for her work with Prince.
Coming from a musical family, Wendy is sister to the late Smashing Pumpkins
touring keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin
and daughter to jazz pianist
(and former NARAS president) Michael Melvoin
in addition to being the twin sister
of guitarist and composer Susannah Melvoin.
~The Revolution~
One of Michael Melvoin's
friends was session musician Gary Coleman;
Coleman's daughter Lisa Coleman
became friends with Wendy Melvoin
when they were children.
Coleman eventually became
one of the backup musicians for Prince,
and introduced Melvoin
to Prince during
the sessions for "1999". Melvoin would replace guitarist Dez Dickerson
in 1983, and both Coleman and Melvoin
became members of the newly
designated band The Revolution.
The band experienced the
explosive popularity of Purple Rain,
and recorded two additional
albums with Prince,
Around The World In a Day
and
Parade,
the soundtrack to Prince's film
Under The Cherry Moon.
Other credits
Shortly after the completion
of the Parade project, Melvoin and Coleman
left the Revolution,
and started their own musical duo, Wendy and Lisa
(also known as Girl Bros).
The duo also collaborate on
musical scores for motion picture
and television.
They currently score the
music for the NBC shows Carnivale
Crossing Jordan
and
Heroes.
Melvoin has also worked
as a producer and studio musician
on her own, working with artists
such as Nina Gordon,
Sheryl Crow,
Liz Phair,
Scritti Politti,
Neil Finn,
k.d. lang,
and Eric Clapton.
Lisa Coleman
(born:
August 17, 1960)
is an American musician. Coleman plays piano and keyboards.
Coleman's father, Gary Coleman
(not to be confused with the actor)
was a session musician in the
1960s and 70s and formed
a friendship with fellow musician Mike Melvoin.
Their families became close with
each other and often played
and recorded music together; Lisa Coleman
formed a close relationship
with Mike's daughter Wendy Melvoin
that would continue throughout
their lives and careers. ~The Revolution~
At the age of 19, Coleman
first came to attention as part of Prince's backing group in 1980
for his Dirty Mind
album and tour.
She replaced keyboardist Gayle Chapman,
who had become uncomfortable
with Prince's sexual lyrics. Coleman played keyboards for
Prince on his "Controversy"
and "1999" albums,
and was a session player
for recordings by The Time
and Vanity 6.
Coleman introduced her longtime
friend Wendy Melvoin to Prince
during the sessions for "1999",
where she contributed vocals to
the song "Free".
Susannah Melvoin
(born:
26 January, 1964)
is an American vocalist,
songwriter and actress who
got her start working with Prince in the
mid-eighties during twin sister Wendy Melvoin's
stint with The Revolution.
During this period she was tapped
to be the co-lead vocalist of Prince'sside project The Family.
Incidentally, The Family are
presently reuniting to record
a new CD to be release
some time this year (2007).
She has subsequently worked
as a background vocalist for such
artists as Roger Waters,
Eric Clapton
and Mike Oldfield among others.
As a songwriter,
she has co-written songs performed
by Madonna,
Eric Clapton,
Prince
and husband Doyle Bramhall II
who was a one-time founding member
of Arc Angels with Charlie Sexton
and members of Stevie Ray Vaughn's
rhythm section.
She has also performed in small
or cameo roles in
three small-budget films.
Influences
~Discography~
Albums ~Wendy And Lisa~
(1987)
~Fruit At The Bottom~
(1989)
~Eroica~
(1990)
~Girl Bros.~
(1998)
~UK singles
Waterfall
(1987)
Honeymoon Express
(1987)
Sideshow
(1988)
Are You My Baby?
(1989)
Lolly Lolly
(1989)
Satisfaction
(1989)
Satisfaction (Remix)
(1989)
Waterfall '89
(1989)
Strung Out
(1990)
Rainbow Lake
(1990)
Don't Try To Tell Me
(1990)
~Compilations~
Re-Mix-In-A-Carnation
(1991)
Toys [Soundtrack] (1992)
Are You My Baby
(1996)
Always In My Dreams
(2000)
~Contributions to Prince discography~
The following songs,
which appear on releases
by Prince or associates,
are registered with ASCAP
as partial Wendy & Lisa
compositions.
17 Days
(Prince, Wendy, Lisa, Dr Fink)
America
(Prince, Wendy, Lisa, Brown Mark, Dr Fink, Bobby Z.)
A Million Miles (I Love You)
(Prince, Lisa)
Computer Blue
(Prince, Wendy, Lisa, Dr Fink, John L. Nelson)
********************************************************* I am not the real
Wendy & Lisa-
Just a big fan doing his bit to promote
the lovely ladies.
I'll add more pics & stuff
over the coming weeks.
Leave any comments or Messages
for the girls on the page but don't message
me personal if you want them to see it.
Cheers
Jason
*******************************************************
A Bonus Player for you to enjoy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wendy and Lisa are a pop music duo
comprised of musicians Lisa Coleman
(keyboards, vocals) and Wendy Melvoin
(guitar, vocals and occasionally on bass)
that formed in the mid 1980s.
The two were childhood friends,
both from musical families
which often performed together;
Wendy's father, Mike Melvoin,
was an in-demand session musician
and was president of the National Academy
of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS)
in the 1980s, while Lisa's father, Gary Coleman (not the actor)
was also an in-demand session musician
for jazz artists.
The "EVIL" Gary Coleman.
~The Revolution~
In 1980, Lisa Coleman replaced Gayle Chapman in Prince's
touring band.
Coleman was well-liked by Prince
and was asked to contribute vocals
to several tracks over his next few albums.
In 1983, Dez Dickerson
left the band due
to religious conflicts. Coleman suggested Melvoin
as a replacement.
Prince accepted Melvoin into the band
as they began to record Purple Rain.
The film and album were a phenomenon,
catapulting himself and the newly
named The Revolution
as superstars.
Prince's personal life also became intertwined
with Melvoin's,
when he began dating her twin sister Susannah.
The team of Coleman and Melvoin
worked extremely well together.
Prince saw this and tapped their talents
for the albums following Purple Rain.
Their influence was particularly heard
on several tracks on the Parade album,
the soundtrack to Prince's film "Under the Cherry Moon".
Despite their growing contributions,
the duo felt they were not getting the
recognition and credit they deserved.
During 1986 Wendy and Lisa became
increasingly disillusioned with Prince's
decision to expand the Revolution with
non-musicians,
such as Wally Safford and Gregory Allen Brooks,
and Prince's increasing machismo
that these new members brought with them.
Unhappy and vocal about their feelings,
they were eventually convinced to remain
with the band and to go on tour that year
with the "Hit and Run" shows.
However, Prince felt spurned and by the
end of the tour he had already decided
he would dissolve The Revolution
once the tour was complete.
Hence, by October 1986, Coleman and Melvoin
were fired by Prince
(along with Bobby Z),
disrupting the "Dream Factory"
project that was already completed
and effectively dissolving The Revolution.
~Contributions~
Prince cultivated a number of artists
who were eventually labeled "proteges".
These artists, often female artists but
occasionally bands -like The Family,
usually contributed vocals to music that Prince had written music and lyrics for
and produced.
Because of their sometimes outlandish
onstage appearances, the duo of "Wendy and Lisa";
(much like Sheila E.)
are often miscategorized as being part
of Prince's "protege harem."
~Vanity~
~Prince's Girls~
~Apollonia~
~Jill Jones~
Her New single- "Some One To Jump Up" Out Now!
~Sheila E.~
It is important to note that,
like Sheila E.,
Melvoin and Coleman were clearly
professional musicians in their own right.
Regardless of critical assessments of either Wendy and Lisa's or Prince's
work, the duo definitely had an influence
and impact on Prince's sound.
The pop/blue eyed soul/funk hybrid
can be heard on Purple Rain,
"Around the World in a Day"
and "Parade".
Their influence is also extremely prominent
on a number of unreleased songs
recorded together with Prince
during 1984, 1985 and 1986,
during which they would either co-write
material, co-produce and co-compose.
Prince would often create the basic tracks
and leave it to the female duo to finish,
adding their own unique embelishments
along the way.
Prince's music after their
departure became significantly more
funk-driven, while their pop/R&B hybrid
can be heard clearly on their first few albums.
~On their own~
The next year, the duo released an album
simply entitled Wendy and Lisa
with Columbia Records.
The lead single, "Waterfall"
received some airplay, and the music video
was played on MTV and VH1.
The album was a moderate success,
but did not approach the sales figures of The Revolution.
The sound was a continuation
of the pop/dance/R&B fusion that had been the
hallmark of their work with Prince;
many Prince fans that were more fond
of his funkier music did not follow the duo's work.
They released a follow up album, "Fruit At the Bottom",
which was not a commercial success.
After a few years,
the duo signed with Virgin Records
(already their label in Europe)
and released Eroica,
an album with a more alternative rock feel.
They had a minor radio and dance club
hit with the single "Strung Out".
In 1991, Virgin UK released "Re-mix-In-a-Carnation",
a selection of club mixes from
the first three albums as remixed
by producers like The Orb,
William Orbit,
and Nellee Hooper.
In the mid-Nineties, Wendy and Lisa worked on
several movie projects
with record producer Trevor Horn,
including session work with Sea
and vocals on the soundtrack for "Toys"
and their first scoring work,
for "Dangerous Minds".
During this period, they worked
to record a full length
album under Horn's production,
however the project (sometimes mistakenly
called "Friendly Fire"
by fans and bootleggers)
has never been released.
They are also responsible for the
music for several television shows in production,
including the award winning-
"Heroes"
and
"Crossing Jordan", both on NBC.
~Girl Bros.
and beyond~
Feeling confined by the "Wendy and Lisa"
moniker, the duo enlisted alternative producer Tchad Blake
(Soul Coughing, Cibo Matto)
and released a CD in 1998
under the name "Girl Bros".
Their sound had begun to evolve
on "Eroica" and while Girl Bros
was still pop/funk based,
it also could be categorized as alternative music.
Melvoin and Coleman
have made numerous contributions
to film scores and to television themes
(for example, they wrote theme music
and background scores for TV-shows
such as
Crossing Jordan,
Carnivale
and their newest venture The Bionic Woman
&
Heroes).
Their latest film score was for "Something New",
released in February 2006.
As sessionists and producers,
they have also appeared,
together or separately,
on albums by Sheryl Crow,
Eric Clapton,
Neil Finn,
Joni Mitchell,
Me'shell Ndegeocello,
Michael Penn,
Liz Phair,
Seal,
Lisa Marie Presley,
Shenkar,
and Victoria Williams,
to name a few.
They have been frequent collaborators
with k.d. lang,
whom they first worked with during "Eroica";
they have played on all of her subsequent albums.
In 2005, Wendy Melvoin
produced the first commercial album by The Like.
Melvoin's brother-in-law Doyle Bramhall II
is another frequent collaborator; Wendy and Lisa performed on his first
and second albums (producing the first)
in addition to performing alongside him on
several other artists' sessions.
In the summer of 2005, Wendy and Lisa performed live as "Pacifico"
in a supergroup band that also included Bramhall,
Susannah Melvoin,
drummer Abe Laboriel, Jr.,
and hip hop writer/producer
Mike Elizondo, Jr.
(better known for his work with Eminem and 50 Cent).
The set of shows at Hollywood's "Largo"
was marked by special guest performances
which included Coleman's sister Cole Ynda, singer Nikka Costa, and Eric Clapton.
Another supergroup, Funksway,
is featured in the 2006 music documentary "Before the Music Dies."
That incarnation replaces Abe Laboriel, Jr. with The Roots'
?uestlove and adds Erykah Badu.
In addition to their featured performance in the movie,
the group played a live set during the 2006 South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas
to celebrate the film's world premiere.
The duo's somewhat erratic relationship
with Prince
has continued;
in 2006, the duo accompanied Prince
on-stage during his performance
at the 2006 Brit Awards
in London,
where they performed such songs as "Fury" and "Purple Rain".
It was the first time in 20 years that the
three had played together in front of a
live audience
(Sheila E. also joined the band on-stage).
