Once again, my memory failed me a bit this week. I thought I was going to be featuring a minor hit from the seventies, but as I was doing my half-assed research I learned that it was a much bigger hit than I had remembered. Not only that, though the artist was most known for being a country performer, I thought the song was more of a pop ballad...wrong again. Go get 'em next week, Tiger!
Jessi Colter (birth name Miriam Johnson) was born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1943, and after graduating from high school she began singing in local clubs. Shortly thereafter she met and married rock and roll guitar legend Duane Eddy and began touring with him and writing songs before they divorced in 1968. She soon met country music legend Waylon Jennings who helped her garner a recording contract with RCA as well as becoming her second husband. Colter had several hits through the seventies and was one of the few women in the outlaw country movement, but her career slowed considerably in the eighties as she chose to help Jennings through his drug abuse and medical problems. After his death in 2002, Colter turned back to performing and has remained active since. For her career, Colter has released eleven studio albums (the latest in 2017), and twenty-six singles (with one top ten pop single, and two top ten country singles). Colter is also the mother of country music star Shooter Jennings, who has had several hits of his own.
Fun Fact (or not): Stevie Nicks originally wrote the song "Leather and Lace" for an album of duets from Jessi Colter and Waylon Jennings, but when she heard rumors of their impending divorce (they eventually stayed together), she decided to keep the song for herself and released it as a single with Don Henley. The song ended up being a top ten hit, but was never recorded by Colter and Jennings.
"I'm Not Lisa" was first released as a single in 1975, and after having considerable success was added to her second album, the cleverly titled I'm Jessi Colter. The song reached #4 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100, and #1 on the Hot Country Singles chart. The album was the most successful of her career, hitting #50 on the pop LP chart and #4 on the country LP chart.
"I'm Not Lisa" opens with Colter tapping individual piano keys almost as a lullaby, before telling her tale of a woman in love with a man who's still in love with a woman who left him (the lyrics leave it somewhat ambiguous as to whether it's death or another man) and trying to convince him that unlike Lisa, she's here to stay. The music, the lyrics, and the instrumentation (there's some nice steel guitar about halfway through) are all sparse, which allows Colter's vocals--which are haunting--to carry the heartbreak of a woman who doesn't want her love to be forsaken for a ghost. "I'm Not Lisa" is truly one of the better country ballads ever recorded, in no small part thanks to a wrenching vocal performance from Jessi Colter.
Lyric Sheet: "I'm not Lisa, my name is Julie/Lisa left you years ago..."
Enjoy:
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Peace,
emaycee
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