Lisa Stansfield Biography

English singer Lisa Stansfield has been compared to an unlikely match, 1970s disco legend and "Sultan of Soul" Barry White. Born in Manchester, England, Stansfield was raised on Motown music and signed her first record deal at age 14. Stansfield was the lead singer of Blue Zone and her vocals appeared on Coldcut's 1989 hit "People Hold On" before her 1990's Affection took the R&B world by storm. The album went platinum and had people making further comparisons of Stansfield's sound, this time with fellow white girl of the R&B world Teen Maria. "All Around the World" soared to the number one spot twice, on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip Hop and Hot Dance Music/Club Play charts, and also earned her the number three spot on the Billboard Hot 100.After an immensely successful debut album that featured her R&B meets disco beats sound, Stansfield released her sophomore effort Real Love. Affection was a tough act to follow and although Real Love wasn't as successful as her first effort, it nonetheless featured more of her trademark sound that continued to reveal Barry White undertones. Stansfield bounced back with her anxiously-awaited self-titled album in 1997. Lisa Stansfield was a flurry of disco-infused pop that included a cover of inspiration Barry White's "Never, Never Gonna Give You Up." The single again placed Stansfield on the Billboard charts; "Never, Never Gonna Give You Up" scored the number one spot in the Hot Dance Music/Club Play category and also made it into the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Tracks listing. Stansfield continued to record R&B records, most recently in 2005 with the release of This Moment.