Lisa Gay was born in Los Angeles, California
on March 21, l957 to a musical family. Lisa's musical interests began
at Coliseum Street Elementary School where she played cello, the ukulele,
and sang in the school chorus.
At Audubon Junior High School she sang first soprano in the choir and continued
her singing at Hamilton High School in Madrigals. While attending Pitzer College,
Lisa majored in Education and had the opportunity to sing in the Claremont
College Choir.
During her brief stay at Pitzer in l975 Lisa
Gay decided to pursue a singing career. Her amateur experiences (1975-1978)
include working in the black circuit clubs of Los Angeles, performing
as a soloist and in groups. From this experience she was hired as a studio
background singer, her first session being with bassist Chuck Rainey
and the late keyboardist Richard Tee.
Within a few months Lisa Gay became a background
singer for Letta Mbula ( A & M Records). After touring with Letta,
Lisa returned to the L.A. circuit clubs and continued as a soloist and
backup vocalist. In May of l978, Lisa went on tour with Marilyn McCoo
and Billy Davis, Jr. and remained with them until June 1981. Lisa's interest
in music never waned; however, Lisa developed in the retail industry.
Lisa Gay was in management at Robinson's, Nordstrom and Macy's, where
she also coordinated and performed in various special events. After
being in retail management for fifteen years Lisa decided it was time
to reenter
the musical field, full time, once again. In June 1996 Lisa executive
produced her own demo with Tony Drake and Mark Cargill as producers.
Given the costs of recording and marketing Lisa continued in the retail
world through October of l996 and while at Macy's (downtown Los Angeles
store) Lisa Gay & Thrill performed at the popular "Downtown
Mid-Day at Macy's" in June l998, and returned for an encore performance
in November l998, sponsored by Macy's and K-BIG 104 Radio, Los Angeles.
As the recording project was close to completion,
Lisa Gay left Macy's to join Tommy Hilfiger (Beverly Hills) which allowed
her to explore even more opportunities with the group doing "live" performances.
In November of 2000, with the release of "Watch What Happens",
the "Lisa Gay and Thrill" showcase was held at Santa Monica's
DC3 for invited guest.
It became their farewell performance in Los
Angeles, as the group left to tour on the Carnival Cruise Lines Ship, "Ecstasy" (Miami/Key
West/Bahamas/Cozumel. Since their return, Lisa Gay has delivered the
group into many successful venues and keeps her vision devoted to her
music and the continued success of "Lisa Gay and Thrill". Whether
it's Classic, Soul, Pop, Jazz, Adult Contemporary, Country Western, Broadway
Show Tunes, or her own compositions, Lisa's smooth, sweet, sexy yet powerful
tones and riffs showcase a style which captures audiences everywhere
she performs along with the incredible "Gentlemen of Thrill" musicians.
Lisa Gay's Recording
Projects:
Paul Humphrey, Richard Tee, Chuck Rainey, "The
Chuck Rainey Coalition", James Gadson, Don Lewis, Gail Deadrick,
Stu Gardner, Joe Cocker, Rodney Friend, Scott Cannady, Kevin Brandon,
Brenda Lee Ager, Patricia Henley, Bob Henley, Eric Ajaye, and Mikal R.
Majeed, Leanard Jackson, and "Thrill".
Lisa Gay's Television Credits:
"The Gong Show" (1976), "The
Tonight Show with Johnny Carson" (1978), "The Mike Douglas
Show" (1979), "Jesse Jackson Push Convention New Orleans Show" (1980)
Lisa Gay's Live Performance Venues:
Los Angeles Black Circuit Clubs (1975-78),
Ebony Awards Party (1975),Operation Breadbasket with Richard Tee (1976)
Songwriter's Awards (1977), The Mill (1977) Baltimore, Maryland with
Letta Mbula as background singer (A& M Records/Herb Alpert Producer/opening
act for Minnie Ripperton), Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr., Las Vegas,
Atlantic City, U.S., Philippines, Bermuda (as Lead Background Singer
1978-1981) Robinson's Special Events (1982-1984), Nordstrom Special Events
(1985-1989), Macy's/Federated (1990-1996, and Macy's Mid-Day Downtown
June/November 1998) with "Thrill". Spotlight performance with
Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. Royal Caribbean's "Sovereign of
the Seas" (1997), AFTRA's "Singers in the Spotlight" (Planet
Hollywood, Beverly Hills-1999). Performances as "Lisa Gay and Thrill",
Lunaria (1999), Gardenia Room Hollywood (regular appearances since November
2000), Knitting Factory Hollywood, (December 2001, March/June 2002 with
upcoming appearances scheduled in 2003), National Minority Aids Convention
(NMAC) Congressional Reception, Anaheim, California (September 2002),
Los Angeles Links Society (December 2002).
Lisa Gay's Affiliations:
AFTRA -American Federation of Television and
Recording Artists (member since 1978) / BMI-Songwriter "Believe
In Love", "Day By Day" with Rodney Friend, "Land
of Me and You", "Feevah" with Larry Washington (Co-Producer).
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