Neither Annie Lennox nor Wendy and Lisa have been record makers in recent years. But that could change, as the three women have been writing together, as the latter duo revealed during a personal appearance this weekend.
At a keynote Q&A session held at the University of Southern California on Friday night as part of the 2024 Pop Conference, Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman were asked what they’re working on now. Moderator Timothy Ann Burnside’s tone suggested that she might have been tipped off that there were promising things in store.
In fact, the duo’s short but interesting response indicated that fans might be able to expect a collaboration that no one expected. Melvoin and Coleman said they are working on writing new music with Lennox for a joint project. They went so far as to call the unit they formed with the former Eurythmics singer “the band.”
Although it seemed as if they might have been speaking figuratively in using the term, Melvoin had a quip that gave way to a literal interpretation.
“If you have any good names for the band name for the three of us, that would be great,” she told the audience.
Even if this material turned out to be headed toward an Annie Lennox solo album, it would still be good for a news headline. Lennox’s last album of original material came out 17 years ago — “Songs of Mass Destruction” in 2007. Even her last album of cover songs, “Nostalgia,” came out a decade ago.
Wendy and Lisa’s new album will be news in itself as well. Their last official release as a duo was 2008’s “White Flags of Winter Chimneys”. They have remained active in the recording world, including co-composing the music for the second season of Hulu’s “Cruel Summer” last year.
That Lennox has struck up a friendship with Wendy and Lisa, if not a group project, will come as no surprise to anyone who has followed their public appearances over the past year.
All three appeared at two concerts hosted by Brandi Carlile on “Joni Jams” to celebrate Joni Mitchell in 2023, first at The Gorge in Washington, then in October at the Hollywood Bowl. Most recently, in February, the three appeared together performing “Nothing Compares 2 U” as part of the In Memoriam segment at the Grammys, a tribute to Sinead O’Connor — although Wendy and Lisa’s time as members of Prince and the Revolution was also evident. He resonated with the performance of a song written by Prince.
The lapses since the last albums of either of these parties have done nothing to diminish the general public appreciation of Lennox, Wendy and Lisa and the desire for frequent appearances. In particular, Lennox’s surprise appearance on stage was hailed as if she were the star of the show at both Johnny Jam concerts; Likewise, she received a hero’s welcome when she sang for Mitchell at the Gershwin Award recording early last year. (See Lennox’s 2023 interview with diverse A lifelong tribute to Joni Mitchell here.)
Friday night’s conversation with Wendy and Lisa was the second keynote of PopCon 2024, an annual showcase of conversations by music academics and journalists, following an earlier conversation with George Clinton on Thursday night, also at USC.
Burnside, a curatorial specialist at the Smithsonian Museum, led Melvoin and Coleman through the entire history of their work together, including growing up as childhood friends and their time with Prince during their most famous period in the 1980s.
Not surprisingly, the subject gravitated toward Mitchell’s influence. The story was told of how, after Prince had already brought Coleman into the band, at a time when he knew Melvoin only as a keyboardist friend, he heard her playing guitar in the hallway, and after he walked in and asked her to play on top of that, Melvoin played for the star an excerpt from Mitchell’s song “The Reckless Daughter of Don Juan”, which led to a major chapter in their career and in the history of music.
Burnside played the opening riffs for “Purple Rain” and asked Melvoin to come up with the part. The guitarist spread her fingers wide as if they were the legs of a spider, showing the girth of her unusually wide reach, and said she learned to play Mitchell’s famously strange melodies without the capo that almost all players would have to use…an ability or technique that allowed her to find “Purple Rain” chords that bands have struggled with over the past four decades.
More recent activities are covered, including Wendy and Lisa being part of the female band for Allison Russell’s Grammy Award-winning 2023 release “The Returner.” Melvoin described working on Russell’s album as one of the best, most amazing studio experiences they had ever had in their lives – despite her original concerns that a band made up of nothing but female musicians might try to outdo each other in that environment. “She’s the real deal,” the guitarist said of Russell.
Burnside reminded the audience that Wendy and Lisa are only a Tony Award away from being EGOTs. Without offering any specific plans, the couple pledged that they intend to work on it.