djzyonseven
Now how do you have a voice like Lisa Fischer’s and spend so much time singing background?
I know those artists were glad to have her.
But baby… this woman deserved a microphone of her own. 🎙️
Most R&B lovers know Lisa Fischer from How Can I Ease the Pain.
But even if you didn’t know her name, there’s a good chance you’d heard her.
Her career includes singing behind Luther Vandross, The Rolling Stones, Tina Turner and Sting.
That’s quite a résumé.
And you already know how I feel about Luther. ❤️
His background singers were part of what made those records and performances so special.
You had to listen, blend, and know exactly where your voice belonged.
Lisa understood that assignment.
But on this record, you get to hear what happens when she has the whole song to herself.
Released on her 1991 debut, So Intense, How Can I Ease the Pain is about knowing somebody can hurt you and still struggling with how much you want them.
Your mind knows better.
Your heart apparently missed the meeting. 👀
She’s trying to break the cycle, but she knows that person is coming back.
And that’s what makes the question feel so desperate.
How do you heal when the very person you’re trying to get over keeps showing up?
Been There, Done That, mySelf.
I love a great voice, but the lyrics have to give that voice something to say.
This song does both.
Lisa starts with this softness that pulls you closer.
Then she opens up, and you realize just how much she’s been holding back.
By the time she reaches those high notes…
Whew. 😮💨
But listen to what happens before she gets there.
The smaller phrases.
The way she stretches a word.She makes the hurt believable long before she gives you the fireworks.
Lisa wrote the song with Narada Michael Walden, who produced it.
And here’s a detail I love.
According to Lisa, the label wanted an uptempo song.
She kept coming back to the ballad they were working on instead.
Her instincts were telling her something. 🎶
Good thing she listened.
How Can I Ease the Pain spent two weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s R&B chart and reached No. 11 on the Hot 100.
In 1992, it earned her the Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, in a tie with Patti LaBelle’s Burnin’.
Now that’s company worth keeping. 🏆
A No. 1 record and a Grammy.
You’d think the next album would’ve been a given.
But the second album never got finished.
Lisa left Elektra for another opportunity, only for that label to back out.
She was left without a deal, and the experience hurt.
So she returned to singing background.
The work paid her bills, gave her independence, and let her do what she loved.
Sing.
Would I have loved more solo music from her?
Absolutely.
For me, How Can I Ease the Pain belongs right in the heart of any Quiet Storm set.
It has the tenderness, the tension, and the kind of singing that makes you leave the volume up after everybody else has gone to bed.
And this is why I’ll always love a good slow jam.
The music takes its time.
The singer makes you believe every word.
Lisa Fischer gave us all of that on How Can I Ease the Pain.
And baby… she sang like she wasn’t leaving until somebody answered her. 💜
DJZ7
#TheSoundtrackOfWhoIBecame, #LisaFischer, #HowCanIEaseThePain, #SoIntense, #LutherVandross, #NaradaMichaelWalden, #QuietStorm, #SlowJams, #90sRnB, #RnBClassics, #SoulMusic, #MusicHistory, @LisaFischerSings
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