Lisa Hartman's Lack of Success as a Solo-Singer

[Mel O'Drama]

Did any other characters besides Ciji, Cathy, and Ginger sing on the show?

Lilimae, of course. And Amanda Michaels.

I can't remember if Larry Riley sang in character. I'm thinking yes, but couldn't swear to it.

It would have been a natural fit for Anne, but I don't recall ever hearing her sing.

Didn't she do a drunken Mamas and The Papas singalong with Mack?

I also recall her singing When The Red, Red Robin (Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin' Along) in a later episode, but that was also a casual at home job. Even though she ended up doing everything else I couldn't see Anne singing professionally.

 

[Billy Nolan]

Did any other characters besides Ciji, Cathy, and Ginger sing on the show? It would have been a natural fit for Anne, but I don't recall ever hearing her sing.

Aside from Lisa Hartman, Michelle Phillips, and Danielle Brisebois, are there any other cast members who have released music?

Abby, Johnny, Lilimae and Gary sang on the show, too.

Michele Lee is a professional singer. She released solo Albums in the 60s and some musical soundtracks. Julie Harris also released the soundtrack of the musical Skyscraper - and she sang a few songs on the soundtrack.
Peter Reckell released one solo album and Brian Austin Green released a rap album.

 

[Karin]

Her last solo album, "'Til My Heart Stops" from 1987, was also appreciated in Switzerland and Sweden, as contemporary magazines and music websites testify.
View attachment 57563View attachment 57564View attachment 57565View attachment 57566View attachment 57567View attachment 57568View attachment 57569
View attachment 57570View attachment 57571View attachment 57572

You know what's interesting about her album doing well in Sweden?
It was probably not due to Knots Landing as it only came on TV in the late 1980s. So the album would have come out before that.

I have her Hold On album on LP. I found it in a second hand shop about 20 years ago. So I think it was probably also sold on the Swedish market.

My guess is that Lisa's career depended on her marketing and record company. Maybe they didn't market her enough in the markets she didn't succeed in?

I don't think it had anything to do with the quality of hermusic since her four albums are all really good.

 

[Billy Nolan]

You know what's interesting about her album doing well in Sweden?
It was probably not due to Knots Landing as it only came on TV in the late 1980s. So the album would have come out before that.

I have her Hold On album on LP. I found it in a second hand shop about 20 years ago. So I think it was probably also sold on the Swedish market.

My guess is that Lisa's career depended on her marketing and record company. Maybe they didn't market her enough in the markets she didn't succeed in?

I don't think it had anything to do with the quality of hermusic since her four albums are all really good.

That's really fascinating. I also found a sheet music booklet for her album "Hold On" in London. Printed in the United Kingdom. Perhaps her music was more popular in Europe than in the USA? The European and American music markets have always been very different.

 

[Billy Nolan]

Her music was also available in the Netherlands. Here's a report from the Dutch magazine Veronica, No. 4 - January 22, 1983. Advertisement for the album "Letterock".

 

[Toni]

Has anyone mentioned that our dear Diana also sang (in the "Put a Smile on Your Face" number)? And Joe Gian too. And Paige in that Christmas episode, along with Val, I think.

Edit to add that I (also!) found the "Hold On" album in an old Spanish shop for a few bucks. I did like it and have a recording of it somewhere (not the LP any more).

 

[Billy Nolan]

Has anyone mentioned that our dear Diana also sang (in the "Put a Smile on Your Face" number)? And Joe Gian too. And Paige in that Christmas episode, along with Val, I think.

Edit to add that I (also!) found the "Hold On" album in an old Spanish shop for a few bucks. I did like it and have a recording of it somewhere (not the LP any more).

Yes. You´re right. I completely forgot about it.
Joseph Gian also released albums and soundtracks.

 

[Payton Cross]

Did not know that. Thanks

You can find the Tabitha theme song "It Could Be Magic" on the cd version of her first studio album "Lisa Hartman" from 1976, it's the last song of one of the three bonus-tracks.

I think Lisa is a good singer in her own right, but her songs are not really good enough to score real hits, especially her first two albums. I think if Lisa had better songs that were more suitable for listening to on the radio, she could become even bigger and more popular than she already is.

 

[ClassyCo]

Unpopular opinion:

Lisa Hartman wasn't a very good singer.

 

[Billy Nolan]

Unpopular opinion:

Lisa Hartman wasn't a very good singer.

I have to disagree with that. Have you listened to her early albums? She has a beautiful soprano voice. I also think she can sing blues and jazz very well, as you could hear in the movie "The Return of Elliot Ness."

Unfortunately, in the music industry, it's not the case that only good singers are successful. There are incredibly bad singers who are successful in the market.

I still believe that the European and American music markets are fundamentally different.

 

[ClassyCo]

I have to disagree with that. Have you listened to her early albums? She has a beautiful soprano voice. I also think she can sing blues and jazz very well, as you could hear in the movie "The Return of Elliot Ness."

Unfortunately, in the music industry, it's not the case that only good singers are successful. There are incredibly bad singers who are successful in the market.

I still believe that the European and American music markets are fundamentally different.

To each their own. Whether or not a singing voice is "good" or "bad" is certainly subjective. Opinions will always differ.

In answering your question, no, I have never listened to Lisa Hartman's earlier albums. I have never heard her sing other than on KNOTS LANDING. Well, and the duet she did with Clint Black, "When I Said I Do". That song is alright.

Just not a fan of her voice. If I were to rewatch KNOTS one day, I'd probably skip her singing scenes.

 

[Karin]

In answering your question, no, I have never listened to Lisa Hartman's earlier albums. I have never heard her sing other than on KNOTS LANDING.

You really need to listen to her solo albums before you go judging her singing career. It's not fair to just base your opinion on her Knots performances.
Her two 70s albums are quite different in style from the songs she sang on Knots in the 1980s.

You can sample her music here:

Lisa Hartman

Artist · 597 monthly listeners.

open.spotify.com

 

[Svengali]

love her and her songs , her own songs and the covers she sang on KL.
too bad she didn't release more albums on her own, I'm not a fan of the songs she sings with her husband. Letterock is a great album from the 80s

 

[Svengali]

Unpopular opinion:

Lisa Hartman wasn't a very good singer.

you should try Audrey Landers and tell us

 

[ClassyCo]

you should try Audrey Landers and tell us

She was worse.

Honestly, none of the primetime soaps in the '80s had good singers on their shows. Not Ciji/Cathy, not Afton, not Apollonia, and no not even Dominique.

 

[DallasFanForever]

Honestly, none of the primetime soaps in the '80s had good singers on their shows.

You’re greatly underestimating Sue Ellen’s performance in Winds of Vengeance

 

[Billy Nolan]

To each their own. Whether or not a singing voice is "good" or "bad" is certainly subjective. Opinions will always differ.

In answering your question, no, I have never listened to Lisa Hartman's earlier albums. I have never heard her sing other than on KNOTS LANDING. Well, and the duet she did with Clint Black, "When I Said I Do". That song is alright.

Just not a fan of her voice. If I were to rewatch KNOTS one day, I'd probably skip her singing scenes.

Can you describe in more detail what bothers you so much about her singing voice?

In KL, she only performed a few songs from her album repertoire.

I think it's presumptuous to judge her as a "bad" singer in general if you don't know anything else about her.

What kind of music/artists usually warm your heart? Just so we can understand your opinion a bit better.

Personally, I like Gothic and Metal. I also occasionally enjoy other genres. Since I like the rougher styles of music, I really like Lisa Hartman's rock-influenced voice.

 

[micmic]

I really love Lisa, i think she’s very pretty and very talented, but i also think she doesn’t have that extra star quality that’s required to really make it big out there.

She also doesn’t strike me as the do-or die kinda girl. Not saying she’s lazy but she looks like a work life balance kinda girl, whereas artists like Madonna made work their entire life and worked super hard in order to succeed.

Plus to succeed you also need industry connections, a team to stand behind you and promote you and she probably didn’t have that.

 

[micmic]

Abby, Johnny, Lilimae and Gary sang on the show, too.

Michele Lee is a professional singer. She released solo Albums in the 60s and some musical soundtracks. Julie Harris also released the soundtrack of the musical Skyscraper - and she sang a few songs on the soundtrack.
Peter Reckell released one solo album and Brian Austin Green released a rap album.

Joey Gian (Tom Ryan) sings, he was doing a gig in Vegas when I was there

 

[Monzo]

When I read how many listeners Lisa Hartman has on Spotify, I became curious about the rest of the cast. So here's an overview of the monthly listeners for the singers from the Knots Landing cast available on Spotify, plus, as a bonus, singers from other primetime soaps of the 1980s.

18,998 Brian Austin Green
10,369 Joey Gian
3,985 Michelle Phillips
2,807 Danielle Brisebois
581 Lisa Hartman
233 Michele Lee
18 Peter Reckell

54,894 Gary Morris
47,409 Audrey Landers
4,107 Diahann Carroll
982 Apollonia Kotero