Old School Saturdays--Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam

photo courtesy of teamsugar.com

Anyone remember the 80s group, Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam? Oh my god, I loved them. I was at work the other day, listening to the 80s XM/Sirius station and I heard “Let the Beat Hit’em” and it stayed in my head for the rest of the day. So, I thought I would feature this freestyle music group on today’s Old School Saturday.

Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam was a Puerto Rican-American band that consisted of Lisa Lisa (Lisa Velez), Alex “Spanador” Moseley (guitarist/bassist) and Mike Hughes (drummer/keyboardist). The late 70s group, Full Force, produced and assembled them. They were successful almost right from the start. In 1985, they released Lisa Lisa & The Cult Jam with Full Force, the groups debut album. Their single, “I Wonder If I Take You Home” was first released in Europe with much success, leading to the release here in the U.S. Quickly, the single went to the top of the Billboard Hot Dance/Disco chart, rapidly crossing over to the R&B charts where it peaked 6th. It then peaked at #34 on the pop chart in the summer of 1985, eventually going gold. “Can You Feel the Beat,” the Cult Jam’s second single also topped the R&B chart in 1985 at #40. Going for a third chart-topper, their single “All Cried Out” also went gold; in 1986 the single went to #8 on the pop chart and #3 on the R&B chart, this lead their debut album to hit platinum status.

In 1987, with their known freestyle/latin pop sound, they released another victorious album, Spanish Fly. Peaking at #7 on the album chart, it too went platinum. Singles “Head to Toe” and “Lost In Emotion” both went gold and hit #1 on the charts. Their third album Straight to the Sky, did well. Straight Out of Hell’s Kitchen was the Cult Jam’s fourth and final album. Although it was less of a commercial success, the single “Let The Beat Hit’em” landed a #1 spot on both the club and R&B charts.

In 1991, the group split up and worked on solo projects. Lisa Lisa released her solo album in 1994, entitled LL 77; she is reportedly going to release a second solo album this summer. Lisa Lisa also did some acting.

I don’t know about you, but I really enjoyed their music. I didn’t realize that they had so many successful as well as memorable singles, in such a short period of time. As I said, I could not stop singing that song once I heard it. Well, enjoy the playlist I’ve put together for your listening pleasure.

Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam