Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam

Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam were a United States urban contemporary band and one of the first freestyle music groups to emerge from New York City in the 1980s. Cult Jam consisted of vocalist Lisa Lisa, born Lisa Velez, guitarist/bassist Alex "Spanador" Moseley, and drummer/keyboardist Mike Hughes. They were assembled and initially produced by Full Force.^[1]

Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam
Lisa Lisa during a group performance, 1987
Background information
Origin	New York, New York, United States
Genres	R&B pop freestyle brown-eyed soul
Years active	1984–1991
Labels	Columbia Sony Music
Past members	Lisa Lisa Alex "Spanador" Moseley Mike Hughes

History

Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam was formed after Velez auditioned for Full Force, a production team from East Flatbush, Brooklyn, at age 14.^[2] In 1985, the group released their debut album Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force.^[3] The group was signed by Columbia Records, which released their single "I Wonder If I Take You Home" to the European division of CBS Records in 1983, for the compilation album Breakdancing.

Stateside club DJs began playing the single from the imported LP in 1984, and the U.S. division of CBS, Columbia Records, released the record. It quickly became a chart-topper on Billboard's Dance/Disco chart. It then crossed over to the R&B chart, where it peaked at No. 6, and then to the pop chart, peaking at No. 34 in the summer of 1985. The single eventually went gold in the United States.

"I Wonder If I Take You Home" was followed by another club hit, "Can You Feel the Beat", which went to No. 40 on the R&B chart in late 1985. A sampling of the lyrics of this song was later used by Nina Sky for their 2004 hit single "Move Ya Body". Their third single, the ballad "All Cried Out", went gold, going to number No. 3 R&B and No. 8 pop in summer 1986. In 1997, "All Cried Out" was recorded by Allure, and was a hit in 1998. Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force went platinum.^[4]

Their second album, Spanish Fly, was a success in 1987.^[3] It spawned two No. 1 pop hits, "Head to Toe" and "Lost in Emotion",^[3] both of which went gold. "Head to Toe" peaked at No. 1 R&B for two weeks and stayed in the pop top 5 nearly three months. "Lost in Emotion's" video became the fourth most played of 1987 on MTV. Spanish Fly went platinum, peaking at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 chart.^[3] Other singles from the album were the ballad "Someone to Love Me for Me", No. 7 R&B, and "Everything Will B-Fine", No. 9 R&B.^[4]

In between albums they recorded "Go for Yours", which was featured in the movie Caddyshack II.

Their third album was titled Straight to the Sky and was released in 1989.^[3] It featured the single "Little Jackie Wants to Be a Star". Their fourth and final album, Straight Outta Hell's Kitchen, was less of a success, though it did include a hit with "Let the Beat Hit 'Em", which was a No. 1 hit on both the R&B and club charts. The group disbanded in 1991.

On February 1, 2025, Lifetime debuted a movie based on the band titled Can You Feel the Beat: The Lisa Lisa Story.^[5][6]

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions					Certifications
		US [7]	US R&B [7]	AUS [8]	CAN [9]	UK [10]
1985	Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force Release date: August 2, 1985 Label: Columbia	52	16	—	—	96	RIAA: Platinum[11]
1987	Spanish Fly Release date: April 8, 1987 Label: Columbia	7	7	—	18	—	RIAA: Platinum[11] MC: Gold[12]
1989	Straight to the Sky Release date: April 12, 1989 Label: Columbia	77	18	—	63	—
1991	Straight Outta Hell's Kitchen Release date: August 20, 1991 Label: Columbia	133	29	125	—	—
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Compilation albums

• Head to Toe (1995, Sony Music)
• Lisa Lisa and Friends (1995, Sony Music)
• Past, Present & Future (1996, Thump)
• Super Hits (1997, Sony Music)
• Playlist: The Very Best of Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force (2010, Columbia/Legacy)

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications

Title	Year	Peak chart positions										Certifications	Album
		US [7]	US R&B [7]	US Dance [7]	AUS [13][8]	BEL [14]	CAN [9]	IRE [15]	NL [16]	NZ [17]	UK [10]
"I Wonder If I Take You Home"	1985	34	6	1	—	—	—	24	41	—	12	RIAA: Gold[11]	Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force
"Can You Feel the Beat"		69	40	6	—	—	—	—	—	—	97
"All Cried Out"	1986	8	3	—	—	—	96	—	—	—	—	RIAA: Gold[11]
"Head to Toe"	1987	1	1	1	52	15	1	—	16	9	82	RIAA: Gold[11] MC: Gold[12]	Spanish Fly
"Lost in Emotion"		1	1	8	83	—	7	—	—	15	58	RIAA: Gold[11]
"Someone to Love Me for Me"		78	7	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Everything Will B-Fine"	1988	—	9	22	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Go for Yours"		—	19	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		Caddyshack II
"Little Jackie Wants to Be a Star"	1989	29	3	—	153	16	98	—	6	10	90		Straight to the Sky
"Just Git It Together"		—	16	7	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Kiss Your Tears Away"		—	26	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Let the Beat Hit 'Em"	1991	37	1	1	72	27	—	27	30	—	17	RIAA: Gold[11]	Straight Outta Hell's Kitchen
"Where Were You When I Needed You"		—	65	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Forever"		95	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Let the Beat Hit 'Em Part 2"		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	49		Non-album single
"Something 'bout Love"	1992	—	—	—	194	—	—	—	—	—	—		Non-album single
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

See also

• List of number-one hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart