Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam
{{Short description|American urban contemporary band}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2022}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam
| image = Lisa_Lisa,_American_singer.jpg
| caption = Lisa Lisa during a group performance, 1987
| background = group_or_band
| alias =
| origin = New York, New York, United States
| genre = {{Flatlist|
| years_active = 1984–1991
| label = {{Flatlist|
| associated_acts =
| website =
| current_members =
| past_members = Lisa Lisa
Alex "Spanador" Moseley
Mike Hughes
}}
Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam were a United States urban contemporary band and one of the first freestyle music groups to emerge from New York City in the 1980s. Cult Jam consisted of vocalist Lisa Lisa, born Lisa Velez, guitarist/bassist Alex "Spanador" Moseley, and drummer/keyboardist Mike Hughes. They were assembled and initially produced by Full Force.{{Cite book|title = Shadows of the Music Industry|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=B4b3BgAAQBAJ|publisher = Lulu.com|date = 2014-07-25|isbn = 9781312306059|language = en|first = Michael|last = Hur|pages = 216–217}}
History
Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam was formed after Velez auditioned for Full Force, a production team from East Flatbush, Brooklyn, at age 14.{{cite book|title=Vibe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zCUEAAAAMBAJ|publisher=Vibe Media Group|date=2002-06-01|language=en}} In 1985, the group released their debut album Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force.{{cite book|title=The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music|editor=Colin Larkin|publisher=Guinness Publishing|date=1992|edition=First|isbn=0-85112-939-0|pages=1491/2}} The group was signed by Columbia Records, which released their single "I Wonder If I Take You Home" to the European division of CBS Records in 1983, for the compilation album Breakdancing.
Stateside club DJs began playing the single from the imported LP in 1984, and the U.S. division of CBS, Columbia Records, released the record. It quickly became a chart-topper on Billboard's Dance/Disco chart. It then crossed over to the R&B chart, where it peaked at No. 6, and then to the pop chart, peaking at No. 34 in the summer of 1985. The single eventually went gold in the United States.
"I Wonder If I Take You Home" was followed by another club hit, "Can You Feel the Beat", which went to No. 40 on the R&B chart in late 1985. A sampling of the lyrics of this song was later used by Nina Sky for their 2004 hit single "Move Ya Body". Their third single, the ballad "All Cried Out", went gold, going to number No. 3 R&B and No. 8 pop in summer 1986. In 1997, "All Cried Out" was recorded by Allure, and was a hit in 1998. Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force went platinum.{{cite web|url=http://billboard.com/bbcom/bio/index.jsp?pid=169561&cr=artist&or=ASCENDING&sf=length&kw=lisa%20lisa%20cult%20jam|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311110756/http://billboard.com/bbcom/bio/index.jsp?pid=169561&cr=artist&or=ASCENDING&sf=length&kw=lisa%20lisa%20cult%20jam|archive-date=March 11, 2007|title=Biography - Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam|website=Billboard.com}}
Their second album, Spanish Fly, was a success in 1987. It spawned two No. 1 pop hits, "Head to Toe" and "Lost in Emotion", both of which went gold. "Head to Toe" peaked at No. 1 R&B for two weeks and stayed in the pop top 5 nearly three months. "Lost in Emotion's" video became the fourth most played of 1987 on MTV. Spanish Fly went platinum, peaking at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 chart. Other singles from the album were the ballad "Someone to Love Me for Me", No. 7 R&B, and "Everything Will B-Fine", No. 9 R&B.
In between albums they recorded "Go for Yours", which was featured in the movie Caddyshack II.
Their third album was titled Straight to the Sky and was released in 1989. It featured the single "Little Jackie Wants to Be a Star".
Their fourth and final album, Straight Outta Hell's Kitchen, was less of a success, though it did include a hit with "Let the Beat Hit 'Em", which was a No. 1 hit on both the R&B and club charts. The group disbanded in 1991.
On February 1, 2025, Lifetime debuted a movie based on the band titled Can You Feel the Beat: The Lisa Lisa Story.{{Cite web|last=Cordero|first=Rosy|title=Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam's Lisa Velez Gets Lifetime Biopic, With Jearnest Corchado, Bre Z & Angie Martinez To Star|url=https://deadline.com/2024/10/lisa-lisa-cult-jam-lisa-velez-lifetime-biopic-jearnest-corchado-1236158754/|website=Deadline Hollywood|date=October 28, 2024|access-date=February 10, 2025}}{{Cite press release|title=Lifetime Unveils Full "Voices of a Lifetime" 2025 Slate with Music Icons Mary J. Blige, Lisa Lisa and Gloria Gaynor|url=http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2025/01/03/lifetime-unveils-full-voices-of-a-lifetime-2025-slate-with-music-icons-mary-j-blige-lisa-lisa-and-gloria-gaynor-941312/20250103lifetime01/|publisher=Lifetime|via=The Futon Critic|date=January 3, 2025|access-date=February 10, 2025}}
Discography
=Studio albums=
=Compilation albums=
- Head to Toe (1995, Sony Music)
- Lisa Lisa and Friends (1995, Sony Music)
- Past, Present & Future (1996, Thump)
- Super Hits (1997, Sony Music)
- Playlist: The Very Best of Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force (2010, Columbia/Legacy)
=Singles=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1"
|+ List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:18em;" | Title ! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Year ! scope="col" colspan="10" | Peak chart positions ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:10em;" | Certifications ! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Album |
| scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;"| US ! scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;"| US ! scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;"| US ! scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;"| AUS
! scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;"| BEL ! scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;"| CAN ! scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;"| IRE ! scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;"| NL ! scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;"| NZ ! scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;"| UK |
|---|
| scope="row"| "I Wonder If I Take You Home"
| rowspan=2| 1985 | 34 || 6 || 1 || — || — || — || 24 || 41 || — || 12 | |rowspan="3"| Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force |
| scope="row"| "Can You Feel the Beat"
| 69 || 40 || 6 || — || — || — || — || — || — || 97 | |
| scope="row"| "All Cried Out"
| 1986 | 8 || 3 || — || — || — || 96 || — || — || — || — | |
| scope="row"| "Head to Toe"
| rowspan=3| 1987 | 1 || 1 || 1 || 52 || 15 || 1 || — || 16 || 9 || 82 | |rowspan=4| Spanish Fly |
| scope="row"| "Lost in Emotion"
| 1 || 1 || 8 || 83 || — || 7 || — || — || 15 || 58 | |
| scope="row"| "Someone to Love Me for Me"
| 78 || 7 || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — | |
| scope="row"| "Everything Will B-Fine"
| rowspan=2| 1988 | — || 9 || 22 || — || — || — || — || — || — || — | |
| scope="row"| "Go for Yours"
| — || 19 || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — | |
| scope="row"| "Little Jackie Wants to Be a Star"
| rowspan=3| 1989 | 29 || 3 || — || 153 || 16 || 98 || — || 6 || 10 || 90 | |rowspan=3| Straight to the Sky |
| scope="row"| "Just Git It Together"
| — || 16 || 7 || — || — || — || — || — || — || — | |
| scope="row"| "Kiss Your Tears Away"
| — || 26 || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — | |
| scope="row"| "Let the Beat Hit 'Em"
| rowspan=4| 1991 | 37 || 1 || 1 || 72 || 27 || — || 27 || 30 || — || 17 | | rowspan=3| Straight Outta Hell's Kitchen |
| scope="row"| "Where Were You When I Needed You"
| — || 65 || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — | |
| scope="row"| "Forever"
| 95 || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — | |
| scope="row"| "Let the Beat Hit 'Em Part 2"
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || 49 | | {{n/a|Non-album single}} |
| scope="row"| "Something 'bout Love"
| 1992 | — || — || — || 194 || — || — || — || — || — || — | | {{n/a|Non-album single}} |
| colspan="15" style="font-size:90%" | "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p4760|label=Lisa Lisa}}
- {{IMDb name|0892471}}
{{Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:American dance music groups
Category:Electronic music groups from New York (state)
Category:American house music groups
Category:American freestyle music groups
Category:Columbia Records artists
Category:Musical groups established in 1985
Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1991
Category:1985 establishments in New York City
Category:1991 disestablishments in New York (state)
Category:Musical groups from New York City