Wendy & Lisa: From Purple Rain to Nurse Jackie

Image credits to imdb.com

Wendy Melovin and Lisa Coleman are two songwriters that make up the musical duo Wendy & Lisa. They began working together as members of Prince’s band The Revolution, where they worked on the soon-to-be sensation Purple Rain. 

The two continued working on Prince projects, but reported feeling looked-over: they weren’t getting proper recognition despite playing pivotal roles in the musical process. Despite being disillusioned, they continued their work with the group until the conclusion of the Hit N Run Parade Tour in 1986, when Prince dissolved the group. In the wake of this, the two joined forces, and they released their first album as Wendy & Lisa the following year.

The duo continued releasing music together, first signing with Virgin Records in 1990, and then going on to self-release their 1998 album Girl Bros, as well as all subsequent records. In 2004, they teamed back up with Prince and contributed to his album Planet Earth.

In the late 90’s and into the 2000’s, Wendy & Lisa expanded their profile to television themes and movie scores. They were awarded the 2010 Emmy for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music for their work on the Nurse Jackie theme (below). They also won the ASCAP Composer of the Year award for their work on Dangerous Minds, Carnivàle, Crossing Jordan, and Heroes. They were nominated for a second Emmy in 2012 for their work on the main title theme for the TV show Touch.

You can check out Wendy & Lisa’s albums on Spotify, and look in to their song credits to see if they happen to be behind the sounds on any of your favorite TV shows or movies!