Lisa Coleman (musician)

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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.

[edit] 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 had a central role in the development of Prince's first top-10 single, Little Red Corvette: it is said that Prince got the idea for the song when he dozed off in Lisa's pink Mercury Montclair after an exhausting all-night recording session. The lyrics came to him in bits and pieces during this and other catnaps. Eventually he was able to finish it without sleeping.

Coleman introduced her longtime friend Wendy Melvoin to Prince during the sessions for 1999, where she contributed vocals to the song "Free". Melvoin would replace guitarist Dez Dickerson in 1983. Coleman and Melvoin became members of the newly designated 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.

[edit] Other credits

Shortly after the completion of the Parade project, Coleman and Melvoin 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 have scored the music for the NBC shows Crossing Jordan and Heroes, the latter of which won the duo the 2007 Film & TV Music Award for Best Score for a Science Fiction Television Program.