Lisa Stewart (born August 6, 1968) is an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

and jazz artist, actress, and television host. In 1991, she signed to

BNA Records BNA Records, formerly known as BNA Entertainment, was a label group that shared ties with Arista Nashville and RCA Nashville from parent company Sony Music Nashville, which itself is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment. Based in Nashville, ...

(then known as BNA Entertainment), releasing her self-titled debut album that year. This album produced two singles for her on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart. Stewart is a BMI Award winning songwriter and has appeared in films alongside Oscar winners Gwynneth Paltrow and Melissa Leo. She currently tours with her jazz combo.

Life and career

Stewart was born August 6, 1968, in

Louisville, Mississippi Louisville (pronounced LEW-iss-vill) is a city in and the county seat of Winston County, Mississippi. The population was 6,072 at the 2020 census. History Like Winston County, Louisville is named for Louis Winston (1784–1824), a colonel in ...

. She first sang in public at age six in her church. Five years later, she attended a Tent Show at the Nashville Fan Fair, where she gave her first country performance. By 1987, Stewart had moved to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, where she won the Roy Acuff scholarship at Belmont University and found work as a studio singer. While performing at a wedding reception in 1991, Stewart was noticed by Mark Thompson,

Wynonna Judd Wynonna Ellen Judd, known simply as Wynonna ( ; born Christina Claire Ciminella; May 30, 1964), is an American country music singer. She is one of the most widely recognized and awarded female country musicians in history. She has had 19 No. 1 s ...

's bandleader, who asked Stewart to sing demos for him. After recording the demos, Stewart signed to a recording contract with BNA Entertainment (now known as

), releasing her debut single "Somebody's in Love" in late 1992. This song was the first of three singles from her self-titled debut album — which was released in January 1993 — followed by "Under the Light of the Texaco" and "Drive Time". Also included on the album was a cover of

Jeannie Seely Marilyn Jeanne Seely (born July 6, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, actress and author. Primarily identified with country music, Seely found success with the Grammy Award-winning song " Don't Touch Me" (1966). Her soul-ins ...

's 1966 single "Don't Touch Me". In addition to promoting her album on radio tours, Stewart hosted the nationally syndicated entertainment news show ''#1 Country''. She also made appearances on

The Nashville Network The Nashville Network, usually referred to as TNN, was an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming included music videos, taped concerts, movies, game shows, syndicated programs, and numerous talk shows. On September ...

, hosting their programs ''Yesteryear'' and ''This Week in Country Music'' and was a featured performer on "Music City Tonight". In 1994, she recorded her second album for BNA. Produced by

Barry Beckett Barry Edward Beckett (February 4, 1943 – June 10, 2009) was an American keyboardist, session musician, record producer, and studio founder. He is best known for his work with David Hood, Jimmy Johnson, and Roger Hawkins, his bandmates in the ...

, the album was entitled Solitary Heart, and the first single was set to be " Let's Go to Vegas" (later a Top 5 hit for

Faith Hill Audrey Faith McGraw (; born September 21, 1967), known professionally as Faith Hill, is an American Country music, country singer. She is one of the most successful country music artists of all time, having sold almost 50 million albums worldwide ...

), but after a shakeup at the label, Stewart was dropped and the album was shelved. From 1997-1999, she co-hosted This Week in Country Music with Steve Phillips on TNN. She also continued to tour throughout the late 1990s. Stewart began acting in the 21st century under her married name of Lisa Stewart Seals, but is currently known as Lisa Stewart. She is now making a mark in the jazz world and performs with her combo, often featuring Chester Thompson on drums (Genesis, Weather Report, Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention).

Discography

Albums

Singles

Music videos

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Lisa 1968 births American women country singers American country singer-songwriters Living people Singer-songwriters from Mississippi BNA Records artists People from Louisville, Mississippi Country musicians from Mississippi 21st-century American women