Wendy Ann Melvoin (born January 26, 1964) is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter, best known for her work with

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

as part of his backing band the Revolution, and for her collaboration with Lisa Coleman as one half of the duo Wendy & Lisa.

Music career

Wendy Melvoin met Prince in 1980 when her girlfriend Lisa Coleman joined Prince's band for the '' Dirty Mind'' period. Prince would stay at their house when he came to the Los Angeles area and she was regularly at the Dirty Mind, Controversy, and 1999 tour shows. She was watching from backstage when Prince and the band opened for the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

in 1981. One night when she was practicing guitar in Coleman's room, Prince overheard and asked Coleman who was playing guitar. A few days later, when guitarist

Dez Dickerson Desmond D'andrea Dickerson (born August 7, 1955) is an American guitarist and singer who was a member of Prince's band, the Revolution. Life and career Dickerson was born in 1955 as Desmond D'andrea Dickerson, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A v ...

did not show up at soundcheck, Prince asked Melvoin to play his guitar; that same night after asking Coleman first, Prince invited Melvoin to join the band. Melvoin sang backup on the ''

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

'' album song "Free", as well as the B-side single "Irresistible Bitch". Melvoin's debut show with the Revolution was a benefit concert for the Minnesota Dance Theatre at the First Avenue nightclub in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

on August 3, 1983. This concert was recorded and some of the songs (" Let's Go Crazy", " Computer Blue", " Purple Rain", " Baby I'm a Star", and "

I Would Die 4 U "I Would Die 4 U" is a song by Prince and the Revolution, the fourth single in the US from their 1984 album, '' Purple Rain''. The up-tempo dance song was a top 10 hit—the final one from the album—in the US, reaching number 8 on the Billbo ...

") were released on '' Purple Rain'', Prince's next record. Melvoin was 19 at the time. Melvoin then worked extensively with Prince in the studio on songs released and unreleased, as well as contributing to protégé projects such as 1984's Apollonia 6, 1985's the Family, and the 1985 Prince & the Revolution album '' Around the World in a Day''. Shortly after the completion of Prince and the Revolution's album tour in October 1986 ''

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

'', Coleman and Melvoin left the Revolution and started their own duo, Wendy & Lisa, also known as Girl Brothers. Melvoin performed with Prince at a Bangles show later in 1986 and appears on Prince's 1987 album '' Sign o' the Times'' on the tracks "Slow Love", "Strange Relationship", and "It's Gonna Be a Beautiful Night". Melvoin and Coleman also composed music for the first season of the TV series '' Heroes''. In September 2008, they announced that they would release an album consisting entirely of the score from ''Heroes'', titled '' Heroes: Original Score''. Melvoin and Coleman composed the main title song for '' Nurse Jackie'', for which they were awarded an Emmy in 2010. As of mid-November 2015, the duo was working on the American TV series ''

Touch The somatosensory system, or somatic sensory system is a subset of the sensory nervous system. The main functions of the somatosensory system are the perception of external stimuli, the perception of internal stimuli, and the regulation of bo ...

''. Melvoin and Coleman performed with Prince on and off during the 2004–2007 period: notably, the 2004

Tavis Smiley Tavis Smiley (; born September 13, 1964) is an American talk show host and author. Smiley was born in Gulfport, Mississippi, and grew up in Bunker Hill, Indiana. After attending Indiana University Bloomington, Indiana University, he worked durin ...

show performing "Reflections" with Prince; a June 5, 2004, ''

Musicology Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, ...

'' tour aftershow; the 2006 Brit Award Show; and the 2007 Triple Hit shows in Minneapolis (the Macey's Show, the Target show, and the First Avenue show.) They also worked on a few songs on Prince's ''

Planet Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all of Earth's water is ...

'' album. Melvoin also contributed guitars to

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

's 2008 album '' Hard Candy'' on the song "She's Not Me". She is mentioned by name during the song. Melvoin contributed heavily to

Neil Finn Neil Mullane Finn (born 27 May 1958) is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known for being a principal member of Split Enz and for being the lead singer of Crowded House. He was also a member of Fleetwood Mac from 2018 ...

's second solo album '' One Nil'', co-writing many tracks and playing drums and bass on several. She is credited for guitar work on most of the tracks on Rob Thomas's first solo album, '' ...Something to Be''. Melvoin is also listed in the credits of

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American country musician and actor. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour'' on CBS television from ...

's 2011 final studio album, '' Ghost on the Canvas''.

Personal life

Wendy Melvoin was born in Los Angeles, California. Her father

Mike Melvoin Mike Melvoin (May 10, 1937February 22, 2012) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. He served as chairman and president of The Recording Academy and worked as a prolific studio musician, recording with Frank Sinatra, John Lennon, ...

was a pianist and member of

studio musicians A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a record ...

known as the Wrecking Crew, and also a former president of the

National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. (NARAS), doing business as The Recording Academy, is an American Learned society, learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is widely kno ...

. Her brother Jonathan Melvoin was a touring keyboardist with

the Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also simply known as Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band formed in Chicago in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, guitarist James Iha, bassist D'arcy Wretzky and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. The ...

, and her twin sister is singer and composer Susannah Melvoin. In April 2009, Melvoin gave an interview with ''

Out Out or OUT may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films *Out (1957 film), ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 *Out (1982 film), ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander *O ...

'' that, for the first time, publicly revealed she is a lesbian and discussed her past romantic relationship with Lisa Coleman, who is still her musical partner. Melvoin was also in a long-term relationship with film director

Lisa Cholodenko Lisa Cholodenko is an American screenwriter and director. Cholodenko wrote and directed the films ''High Art'' (1998), ''Laurel Canyon (film), Laurel Canyon'' (2002), and ''The Kids Are All Right (film), The Kids Are All Right'' (2010). She has a ...

, with whom she has a son.

Awards and recognition

In 2007, the

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...

Film and Television Music Awards gave Melvoin and Coleman the "Top Television Series" award for their work on '' Heroes''. Melvoin and Coleman were awarded with an

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

for Outstanding Original Main Title in 2010 for their theme to '' Nurse Jackie''. They also technically share the honor of winners of a Grammy and Oscar for being part of the Revolution, as ''Purple Rain'' won two Grammys, and the Oscar for Best Original Score. In 2014, Melvoin and Coleman received the inaugural Shirley Walker Award from The

American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...

(ASCAP), an award which honors those whose achievements have contributed to the diversity of film and television music.

Collaborations

With Meshell Ndegeocello * '' Peace Beyond Passion'' (Maverick Records, 1996) * '' Bitter'' (Maverick Records, 1999) With

* '' Meet Glen Campbell'' (Capitol Records, 2008) * '' Ghost on the Canvas'' (Surfdog Records, 2011) With k.d. lang * '' Drag'' (Warner Bros. Records, 1997) * '' Invincible Summer'' (Warner Bros. Records, 2000) With Doyle Bramhall II * '' Doyle Bramhall II'' (Geffen, 1996) * '' Jellycream'' (RCA Records, 1999) With Lisa Marie Presley * '' To Whom It May Concern'' (Capitol Records, 2003) With Michael Penn * ''

March March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...

'' (RCA Records, 1989) * '' Free-for-All'' (RCA Records, 1992) With Ilse DeLange * '' The Great Escape'' (Universal Music, 2006) With Rob Thomas * '' ...Something to Be'' (Atlantic Records, 2005) * ''...Something More'' (Atlantic Records, 2005) With

Nerina Pallot Nerina Natasha Georgina Pallot (born 26 April 1974) is a British singer, songwriter and producer, who has released eight albums and over a dozen EPs. She was nominated for British Female Solo Artist at the 2007 BRIT Awards and nominated for an ...

* '' Fires'' (Idaho Records, 2006) With

* '' One Nil'' (Parlophone Records, 2001) With

Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She is noted for her Optimism, optimistic and Idealism, idealistic subject matter, and incorporation of genres including Rock music, rock, Po ...

* '' The Globe Sessions'' (A&M Records, 1998) * '' C'mon, C'mon'' (A&M Records, 2002) With Seal * ''

Human Being Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...

'' (Warner Bros. Records, 1998) With Nikka Costa * '' Can'tneverdidnothin''' (Virgin Records, 2005) With Skye Edwards * '' Mind How You Go'' (Atlantic Records, 2006)

References

External links

Official Wendy & Lisa site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Melvoin, Wendy 1964 births American women songwriters Songwriters from California American funk guitarists American multi-instrumentalists American rhythm and blues guitarists American rock guitarists Twin musicians American soul guitarists American lesbian musicians Lesbian composers Lesbian singers Lesbian songwriters LGBTQ record producers LGBTQ people from California American LGBTQ singers American LGBTQ songwriters American LGBTQ composers Living people American rhythm guitarists The Revolution (band) members American twins Highland Hall Waldorf School alumni La-La Land Records artists 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women guitarists 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American LGBTQ people American women rock singers Prince associates