Lisa Hunt is an American

Byron Bay Byron Bay ( Minjungbal: ''Cavvanbah)'' is a beachside town located in the far-northeastern corner of the state of New South Wales, Australia on Bundjalung Country. It is located north of Sydney and south of Brisbane. Cape Byron, a hea ...

-based soul singer. Hunt rose to fame in Italy as an associated act and backup singer of

Zucchero Fornaciari Adelmo Fornaciari (; born 25 September 1955), more commonly known by his stage name Zucchero Fornaciari or simply Zucchero (), is an Italian singer, musician and songwriter. His stage name is the Italian word for "sugar", as his elementary teach ...

, touring with him from the late 1980s until the 2000s. She has been particularly praised for her collaboration on Zucchero's fifth album ''

Oro Incenso & Birra ''Oro Incenso & Birra'' (Gold, Frankincense & Beer) is the fifth studio album released by the Italian singer-songwriter Zucchero Fornaciari on 13 June 1989. As with his previous album ''Blue's'', the album is credited to "Zucchero Sugar Fornaciari ...

'', and for her subsequent performance in Zucchero's first

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

'' Live at the Kremlin'', particularly for her solo in the song "Madre dolcissima". Hunt recorded several songs with Fornaciari, including "Something Strong", from the soundtrack album ''

Snack Bar Budapest ''Snack Bar Budapest'' is a 1988 Italian neo-noir comedy film written and directed by Tinto Brass and starring Giancarlo Giannini. It is based on the novel with the same title by Marco Lodoli and Silvia Bre.- - Plot A disbarred lawyer (Giancarlo ...

''. She has released a total four albums, the first, ''A Little Piece of Magic'', with

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

. Although better known for her Funk, Soul and Rock style, Hunt also collaborated with several electronic dance music acts, and appeared on many

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

and electronic records. In January 2005, the single "The Joint is Jumpin'" featuring Hunt peaked at number 5 on the United States ''Billboard'' Dance Club Songs. The single "Unity", a collaboration of John Rizzo, Hunt, and

Wanda Houston Wanda Houston is an American singer and actress. Biography Houston is originally from Chicago, Illinois. She started singing in gospel choirs of West Side, Chicago. She was born to John and Bessie, the oldest of four. Houston comes from a creati ...

, peaked at number 27 on the same chart in 2008. Beside Zucchero, Hunt performed with

Pavarotti Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...

Andrea Bocelli Andrea Bocelli (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor and multi-instrumentalist. He was born visually impaired, with congenital glaucoma, and at the age of 12, Bocelli became completely blind, following a brain hemorrhage resulting fro ...

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of son ...

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

Macy Gray Natalie Renée McIntyre (born September 6, 1967), known by her stage name Macy Gray, is an American R&B and soul singer and actress. She is known for her distinctive raspy voice and a singing style heavily influenced by Billie Holiday. Gray ha ...

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and

Alen Vitasović Alen Vitasović (born 5 July 1968) is a Croatian pop singer and songwriter. Born in Pula, many of his songs are about his native Istria and mostly written in Chakavian dialect. Vitasović began his music career early, learning how to play the h ...

. Hunt achieved fame and relative success in Italy, where she has been credited as "one of the most incredible voices of the past years." In Italy, she is said to have performed one of the most intense interpretations of "

Imagine Imagine may refer to: * Imagination Music Albums * ''Imagine'' (Armin van Buuren album), 2008 * ''Imagine'' (Eva Cassidy album), 2002 * ''Imagine'' (Janice Vidal album), 2012 * ''Imagine'' (John Lennon album), 1971 ** ''Imagine: John Lennon' ...

Early life

Hunt reportedly was born in the state of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

. She began singing in the Afro American tradition of

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

. She studied music at

The City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, City ...

. At some point she moved to England, since she was discovered by Zucchero Fornaciari while singing in the street at

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, which is famous for its market and the street artists singing in the square. Zucchero met her fortuitously, in "a miraculous way." He had lost his flight back to Italy, however, he ended up signing one of Italy's "most incredible voices in the past few years." After he came across her in Covent Garden, Zucchero observed her show for an hour, filming her with a

handycam Handycam is a Sony brand used to market its camcorder range. It was launched in 1985 as the name of the first Video8 camcorder, replacing Sony's previous line of Betamax-based models, and the name was intended to emphasize the "handy" palm size ...

. Fornaciari has stated "I met her fortuitously at Covent Garden, as she was singing in the street there, with people dropping coins for her... I approached her and said 'You are too good, you absolutely have to come to Italy.'" Fornaciari presented himself and asked Hunt if she would like to sing in his band, taking her phone number. Within a month she was in Italy, appearing in Zucchero's videoclip of ''Con le mani'' the same month. She toured with Zucchero as a backup singer and worked with him for over 15 years. Hunt collaborated on Zucchero's fifth studio album ''

'', and is best remembered for the single ''Madre dolcissima''. She was also praised for her performance in ''Live at the Kremlin'', Zucchero's first live album. Zucchero's was the first concert by an occidental artist in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

after the

fall of the wall The fall of the Berlin Wall (german: Mauerfall) on November 9 in German history, 9 November 1989, during the Peaceful Revolution, was a pivotal event in world history which marked the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the figurative Iron Curtai ...

. In the 1990s, Hunt attempted for the first time to go solo. In 1989 she released "A Little Piece of Magic", which was released on January 12, 1990, in Italy. Two songs in the album are collaborations with Zucchero. Although in Italy she was chiefly known for her interpretations of songs by other artists, the album didn't contain her famous cover of ''Imagine'', and it actually contained only one cover song across, namely "

Lady Marmalade "Lady Marmalade" is a song written by Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan, originally for Nolan's disco group. The song is famous for the repeated refrain of " ''Voulez-vous coucher avec moi''?" in French as part of the chorus, a sexually suggestive line ...

". Hunt has stated that she didn't want any covers at all in it, but the producers insisted to have at least one cover of a popular song in the album. Two songs were composed by Zucchero, one, "In my secret heart", was composed by

David Sancious David Sancious (born November 30, 1953) is an American musician. He was an early member of Bruce Springsteen's backing group, the E Street Band, and contributed to the first three Springsteen albums, and again on ''Human Touch'' (1992), '' Trac ...

. "In my secret heart" features

Manu Katché Manu Katché (born 27 October 1958) is a French drummer and songwriter of Ivorian descent. He has worked extensively as a session musician, notably with Sting and Peter Gabriel, and his solo albums as a bandleader are largely in the jazz fusion ...

, bassist

Pino Palladino Giuseppe Henry "Pino" Palladino (born 17 October 1957) is a Welsh musician, songwriter, and record producer. A prolific session bassist, he has played bass for acts such as The Who, the John Mayer Trio, Nine Inch Nails, Gary Numan, Jeff Beck ...

and Zucchero. Hunt 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 collaborated with American-born Australian singer Mark Lizotte (aka

Diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...

) on the song "Come Down," from Diesel's sixth studio album ''

Soul Lost Companion ''Soul Lost Companion'' is the sixth studio album by Australian rock singer-songwriter, Mark Lizotte, and issued under his birth name. Otherwise he generally uses his stage names, Diesel, Johnny Diesel or Johnny Diesel and the Injectors. It appe ...

''. As of 2015, she reportedly sold a total of one million copies of her own CDs. Hunt has appeared on several records by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

electronic dance music group

Lovestation Lovestation are a British electronic dance music group formed by Vicky Aspinall in 1989, who subsequently worked with co-producer David Morgan. Gospel singer-songwriter Lisa Hunt has also appeared on several Lovestation records. Active througho ...

. She collaborated with several musicians in Australia and the United States. The single "The Joint is Jumpin'" featuring Hunt peaked at number 12 on the United States ''Billboard'' Dance Club Songs (January 8, 2005). A remix of the song ("The Joint is Jumpin' - J. Budz/ Blueroom/ Twisted Dee & Jayito Mixes") peaked at number 5 on the same chart on January 22, 2005. The song was featured on the TV series '' Queer as Folk''. John Rizzo's single "Unity", released in 2008 and featuring Hunt and Wanda Houston, peaked at number 27 on the United States Billboard Dance Club Songs. In addition to her participation in the soundtrack of ''

'' in the 1980s (with "Something Strong" featuring Hunt and Zucchero), Hunt has contributed vocals to the soundtrack of

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

's ''

Subway Stories ''Subway Stories: Tales from the Underground'' is a film made in 1997 and produced by Home Box Office for television. It began as a contest among New Yorkers who submitted stories about their experiences within the New York City Subway. HBO pic ...

'', and collaborated on HBO's adaptation of ''

Goodnight Moon ''Goodnight Moon'' is an American children's book written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd. It was published on September 3, 1947, and is a highly acclaimed bedtime story. This book is the second in Brown and Hurd's "cla ...

'', featuring

Lauryn Hill Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. She is often regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, as well as being one of the most influential musicians of her generation. ...

and

Susan Sarandon Susan Abigail Sarandon (; née Tomalin; born October 4, 1946) is an American actorMcCabe, Bruce"Susan Sarandon, the 'actor'" ''Boston Globe''. April 17, 1981. Retrieved January 21, 2021. and activist. She is the recipient of various accolades, ...

. Hunt has appeared in a number of

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

musicals Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

, including ''

Dreamgirls ''Dreamgirls'' is a Broadway musical, with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen. Based on the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Supremes, The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and others,Gro ...

'', Robert Wilson's ''Medea'' and '' Ballad for Bimshire'' by Susan Watson Turner. It has been stated that the

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

of the latter show was "stirringly delivered" by Hunt.

Personal life

Hunt has stated that her favorite city "in Italy and in the world" is

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

. In February 2021 she was fined $5000 for "alleged COVID-19 breaches by patrons." In December 1989 she married an

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n rock guitarist in her native

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Discography

Studio albums

As a featured artist

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

References

External links

Lisa Hunt at Last.fm
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, Lisa Living people American contemporary R&B singers Singers from New York City American soul singers 20th-century African-American women singers 21st-century African-American women singers Byron Bay, New South Wales Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women