Lisa Hunt facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lisa Hunt
Background information
Birth name	Lisa Hunt
Origin	New York City, U.S.
Genres	Funk soul R&B gospel jazz rock and roll electronic disco house
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1980s–present
Labels	Polydor Nature Beat Music Phatgirl Records
Associated acts	Zucchero Lovestation Ekko Pavarotti & Friends Diesel Wanda Houston

Lisa Hunt is an American singer known for her soulful voice. She lives in Byron Bay, Australia. Lisa became famous in Italy, where she sang backup for the well-known musician Zucchero Fornaciari. She toured with him for many years, starting in the late 1980s and continuing into the 2000s.

People especially loved her work on Zucchero's album Oro Incenso & Birra. Her performance in his first live album, Live at the Kremlin, was also highly praised. She sang a special solo in the song "Madre dolcissima." Lisa Hunt recorded several songs with Zucchero, including "Something Strong" from the movie soundtrack Snack Bar Budapest. She has released four albums of her own. Her first album, A Little Piece of Magic, was released with Polydor.

While Lisa Hunt is best known for her Funk, Soul, and Rock music, she also worked with electronic dance music artists. She appeared on many house and electronic songs. In 2005, her song "The Joint is Jumpin'" reached number 5 on the U.S. Billboard Dance Club Songs chart. Another song, "Unity," with John Rizzo and Wanda Houston, reached number 27 on the same chart in 2008.

Besides Zucchero, Lisa Hunt has performed with many famous musicians. These include Pavarotti, Andrea Bocelli, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, James Brown, Joe Cocker, Miles Davis, Macy Gray, Tina Turner, Bryan May, Dolores O'Riordan, and Alen Vitasović. In Italy, she is known as having "one of the most incredible voices." She is also said to have performed a very powerful version of "Imagine".

Early Life and Career Beginnings

Lisa Hunt was born in the state of Washington. She started singing in the gospel music style, which is a big part of African American tradition. She studied music at The City College of New York.

Later, she moved to England. This is where Zucchero Fornaciari discovered her. She was singing on the street in Covent Garden, London, a famous place for street performers. Zucchero had missed his flight back to Italy. By chance, he saw Lisa singing and was amazed by her voice. He watched her perform for an hour and even filmed her.

Zucchero told her, "You are too good, you absolutely have to come to Italy!" He asked for her phone number. Within a month, Lisa was in Italy. She appeared in Zucchero's music video for "Con le mani" that same month.

Touring with Zucchero

Lisa toured with Zucchero as a backup singer for over 15 years. She worked on his fifth studio album, Oro Incenso & Birra. Many people remember her for the song "Madre dolcissima." She also received praise for her performance in Live at the Kremlin. This was Zucchero's first concert in the Soviet Union after the fall of the Berlin Wall. It was a very important event.

Solo Career and Collaborations

In the 1990s, Lisa Hunt decided to try a solo career. Her first album, A Little Piece of Magic, was released in Italy in 1990. Two songs on this album were collaborations with Zucchero. Even though she was known for singing cover versions of other artists' songs in Italy, her album only had one cover song, "Lady Marmalade". Lisa wanted no covers, but producers insisted on having at least one popular song.

Two songs on the album were written by Zucchero. Another song, "In my secret heart," was written by David Sancious. This song featured famous musicians like Manu Katché and Pino Palladino. Lisa went on to release three more albums: Can You Feel It (1997), Forever Soul (2000), and The Very Best of Forever Soul (2003).

In 1999, she worked with Australian singer Mark Lizotte, also known as Diesel. They sang "Come Down" from Diesel's album Soul Lost Companion. By 2015, Lisa Hunt had reportedly sold one million copies of her own CDs.

Lisa has also appeared on several songs by the British electronic dance music group Lovestation. She has worked with many musicians in Australia and the United States. Her single "The Joint is Jumpin'" reached number 12 on the U.S. Billboard Dance Club Songs chart in 2005. A remixed version of the song reached number 5 on the same chart. This song was also featured in the TV series Queer as Folk.

In 2008, John Rizzo's single "Unity," featuring Lisa Hunt and Wanda Houston, reached number 27 on the U.S. Billboard Dance Club Songs chart.

Besides Snack Bar Budapest, Lisa Hunt has contributed vocals to other soundtracks. These include HBO's Subway Stories and HBO's adaptation of Goodnight Moon. For Goodnight Moon, she collaborated with Lauryn Hill and Susan Sarandon.

Lisa Hunt has also performed in several off-Broadway musicals. These include Dreamgirls, Robert Wilson's Medea, and Ballad for Bimshire. Her performance of the ballad in Ballad for Bimshire was described as "stirringly delivered."

Personal Life

Lisa Hunt has said that her favorite city in the world is Venice, Italy. In December 1989, she married an Australian rock guitarist in her hometown of New York City.

Discography

Lisa Hunt has released several albums and singles throughout her career.

Studio Albums

• A Little Piece of Magic (1989)
• Can You Feel It (1997)
• Forever Soul (2000)
• The Very Best of Forever Soul (2003)

Notable Songs as a Featured Artist

Lisa Hunt has lent her voice to many songs by other artists, including:

• "Something Strong" with Zucchero (1988)
• "Madre dolcissima" with Zucchero (1990)
• "Love Come Rescue Me" with Lovestation (1992)
• "Love is ..." with Ekko (1994)
• "The Joint is Jumpin'" (2004)
• "Unity" with John Rizzo and Wanda Houston (2008)