Wendy and Lisa are veteran composers and singer-songwriters. They were integral members of Prince's Revolution.
The music duo Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman were born in the '60s, and were childhood friends. Both of their fathers were members of the legendary Wrecking Crew; a collective of session musicians based in Los Angeles who recorded with just about everyone between the '60s and '70s.
In their early 20's, they started dating. Around that same time, Lisa started playing keys and singing for Prince. You can hear her work on Prince's breakthrough, Dirty Mind.
Soon after, Wendy joined on guitar. Together they recorded some stone cold classics with The Revolution: Purple Rain, Raspberry Beret, Kiss, When Doves Cry and more.
They left The Revolution in 1986. They released a few albums of their own under the name. All these years, Wendy and Lisa have kept collaborating – even long after they broke up as a couple.
These days, they compose scores for TV and movies: Heroes, Dangerous Minds, Crossing Jordan and Nurse Jackie. Earlier this summer the two reunited with the Revolution to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Purple Rain. And they just announced they're working on an album with Annie Lennox.
Wendy and Lisa talk with us about their 40-plus year partnership, and their Emmy award-winning work as composers. They'll reflect on their childhood friendship and the work their fathers contributed as members of The Wrecking Crew. And of course, what it was like to collaborate with Prince, and work on some of his most iconic records.
A version of this interview originally aired in June of 2021.
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