Lisa Anne Loeb (; born March 11, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author and actress. She started her career with "Stay (I Missed You)" (1994) from the film Reality Bites, the first number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 for an artist without a recording contract. She achieved additional top-20 singles with "Do You Sleep?" in 1996 and "I Do" in 1998. Her albums Tails (1995) and Firecracker (1997) were certified gold.
Loeb's film, television and voiceover work includes guest roles in Gossip Girl and Netflix's Fuller House. She also starred in two other television series, Dweezil & Lisa, a weekly culinary adventure for the Food Network that featured her alongside Dweezil Zappa, and #1 Single on E! Entertainment Television. She has acted in such films as House on Haunted Hill, Fright Night, Hot Tub Time Machine 2, and Helicopter Mom.
Loeb has released children's albums and books. Her 2016 album Feel What U Feel won the Grammy Award for Best Children's Music Album. Loeb's latest album, A Simple Trick to Happiness, was released in February 2020. Loeb currently hosts "Stay with Lisa Loeb," on SiriusXM, every weekday.
Early life and education Lisa Loeb was born to a Jewish family in Bethesda, Maryland, and was raised in Dallas, Texas, where her parents still reside. Her mother, Gail, was the president of the Dallas County Medical Society Alliance and Foundation, and her father, Peter Loeb, was a gastroenterologist. She has a younger sister, songwriter Debbie Loeb. As a child, Loeb studied piano, but later switched to guitar. She attended The Hockaday School, an all-girls private school. For two years, she had her own radio show on 88.5 KRSM-FM, a 10-watt station licensed to the nearby all-boys St. Marks School of Texas. After graduating from high school in 1986, she attended Brown University, where she graduated in 1990 with a degree in comparative literature.
Music career
Early years and first bands (1980s–1993)
At Brown in the mid-1980s, Loeb and Elizabeth Mitchell formed a band named Liz and Lisa, with future singer/songwriter and classmate Duncan Sheik as a guitarist. The duo released the albums Liz and Lisa (1989) and Liz and Lisa - Days Were Different (1990) independently. After developing a following together, Loeb and Mitchell parted ways a few years after college. Loeb attended Berklee College of Music in Boston for a session of summer school, and in 1990 formed a full band called Nine Stories. The band, which was named after the book by J.D. Salinger, included Tim Bright on guitar, Jonathan Feinberg on drums, and Joe Quigley on bass. Loeb began working with producer Juan Patiño to make the cassette Purple Tape in 1992. It included the earliest recordings of later popular tracks such as "Do You Sleep?", "Snow Day", "Train Songs", and "It's Over". Loeb sold the violet-colored cassette to fans at shows and used it as a sonic calling card to industry gatekeepers. She and her band made a recording of her song "Stay (I Missed You)" during the same period. Loeb developed a following from her solo acoustic performances on the New York City coffeehouse circuit and the rock club circuit. She travelled to cities such as Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Dallas, but focused on New York City. She played acoustically and with her band in folk and rock clubs, including at CBGB. Loeb performed at music festivals such as the New Music Seminar and South by Southwest.
"Stay (I Missed You)" (1994)
Loeb's big break came through her friendship with actor Ethan Hawke, who lived in an apartment across the street from her in New York City. She told Cosmopolitan that she met Hawke in the NYC theater community where, as she phrased it, "I made music for his plays". Loeb gave Hawke the Juan Patiño-produced version of "Stay (I Missed You);" he in turn gave it to director Ben Stiller during the making of the 1994 film Reality Bites. Stiller used the song in the film's ending credits, and it was included by Ron Fair on the soundtrack on RCA Records. Hawke directed a rare one-take video on film, a continuous steadicam shot operated by Robin Buerki.
"Stay (I Missed You)" went on to become a number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. When her song hit number one, Loeb earned the distinction of being the first artist to top the Hot 100 before signing to a record label. The single reached Gold status on July 12, 1994, just over three months after its release date. Loeb and Nine Stories were nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, and were named Best International Newcomer in the Brit Awards.
In 2019, Loeb released a limited edition 12" red vinyl pressing of the song for the 25th anniversary of the song. The release included four unreleased versions of "Stay (I Missed You)", "Truthfully", "Waiting for Wednesday", and "I Do", recorded live in January 2013 in Japan.
Loeb appeared at the 25th anniversary screening of Reality Bites at the Tribeca Film Festival, with the film's stars Ethan Hawke, Winona Ryder, Ben Stiller, and Janeane Garofalo, and performed "Stay (I Missed You)" during the film's end credits.
Tails and Firecracker (1995–1999)
In September 1995, Loeb's debut album, Tails, credited to Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories, was released on Geffen Records. The album was co-produced by Juan Patiño, her then longtime boyfriend. "Stay" was included on the album, and Loeb managed a top 20 hit with "Do You Sleep?" and two moderately successful radio hits with "Taffy" and "Waiting for Wednesday". The album was certified Gold by the RIAA on December 1, 1995. Critics were favorable to the album, with Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly, in particular, noting, "Loeb has an undeniable gift for creating an air of intimacy and vulnerability, which may well be enough for 'Stay' fans looking for additional doses of contemplative melancholy". After the release of Tails Tim Bright and Jonathan Feinberg left Nine Stories and were replaced with Mark Spencer and Ronny Crawford respectively.
In 1997, Loeb released a second major-label album on Geffen, Firecracker, and began experimenting more with orchestrations done with Dan Coleman. At this point, Loeb started going under her own name for the albums instead of using the band name, although she still continued to tour worldwide with Nine Stories, as well as acoustically as she had done from the start. Firecracker included hit singles such as "I Do", which received radio success, peaking at No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and music television. The album was certified Gold on June 10, 2008. She subsequently toured with The Wallflowers and Chris Isaak, and performed at Lilith Fair.
Guest appearances (2000–2001)
In 2000, Loeb participated in the Ozzy Osbourne tribute album Bat Head Soup, performing "Goodbye to Romance" with Dweezil Zappa on guitar. She contributed to An All Star Tribute To Cher with "Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves", and to An All Star Tribute To Shania Twain with "Don't Be Stupid", both of which were released in 2005. Other international work includes Loeb's guest performance on the song "Anti-Hero" for an all-female Japanese musical group Rin''s album Inland Sea. Loeb contributed vocals to New Found Glory's cover of "Stay", from their 2007 LP From the Screen to Your Stereo Part II, as well as performing the song live with the band.
Beginning with Reality Bites, Loeb's music has been featured in several soundtracks. The single "How" was included on the soundtracks for films Twister and Jack Frost, and was heard in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode "Homecoming". "We Could Still Belong Together" earned a spot on the Legally Blonde soundtrack in 2001, while "I Wish" can be heard on the soundtrack for Anywhere But Here (1999).
Cake and Pie (2002)
Cake and Pie, Loeb's third album and debut for A&M/Interscope, was released in 2002. She co-produced the album and collaborated with Glen Ballard, then boyfriend Dweezil Zappa, Randy Scruggs (Vince Gill, Sawyer Brown, Waylon Jennings), and Peter Collins (Rush, Bon Jovi, Indigo Girls). It peaked at 199 on the Billboard Charts.
In mid-2002, Loeb signed a deal with Artemis Records, a new boutique label run by record company veterans Danny Goldberg and Daniel Glass, after Interscope allowed her to buy the rights to her masters. Artemis had offered to re-release the record with more promotion. With new artwork, some songs added and some removed, Cake and Pie was re-launched as Hello Lisa, a play on Sanrio's signature Hello Kitty, who appears on the album cover wearing Lisa Loeb's trademark glasses.
She released an EP with just the new songs on it, as well as an alternative version of the song "Underdog" for fans who had already purchased the Cake and Pie CD. She co-directed a video with Dweezil Zappa for "Underdog" co-starring Hello Kitty playing guitar. Loeb toured the world again, making special stops in Sanrio stores for in-store autographs while appearing with Hello Kitty at the Japanese MTV Music Awards.
Catch the Moon album (2003)
In 2003, Loeb reunited with her college music partner Elizabeth Mitchell on children's CD and companion book Catch the Moon through Artemis Records. According to Allmusic, "The songs are rendered in a folk/country acoustic minimalism that is, in a word, enchanting." Videos from this album, as well as the single "Jenny Jenkins", have been featured on the Noggin TV network for children.
The Way It Really Is (2004)
In 2003, Loeb voiced the role of Mary Jane Watson in Spider-Man: The New Animated Series, which ran for one season on MTV.
In 2004, Loeb signed to the more experienced and established independent label Zoë/Rounder Records. The Way It Really Is was released August 2004 as Loeb's fifth studio album, based on the song "The Way It Really Is".[ The Way It Really Is Review] Stephen Thomas Erlewine. Retrieved August 1, 2007 Although the album was not as commercially successful as its predecessors, critics noted the mature and strong writing by Loeb. Stephen Erlewine called it "the best, most cohesive record she's made, a clean, crisp collection of well-crafted, gentle tunes that slowly, surely work into the subconscious."
The Very Best of Lisa Loeb, Purple Tape, Camp Lisa album and non-profit (2006–2008)
Her greatest hits compilation, The Very Best of Lisa Loeb, was released through Universal in January 2006 as well as a Japanese version of the album. Loeb was a judge for the 1st and 8th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists.
In 2006, Loeb contributed to the album A World of Happiness, designed to disseminate messages of kindness, compassion, tolerance, and self-reliance to children of all ages. She performed as Lady Leonali the Ladybug singing "In the Details".
In 2008, she released her Purple Tape album remixed and remastered on a double CD. It included an interview by Andy Denemark, highlighting the creative process behind each song. There were extensive liner notes and photos documenting her early history in New York City. That same year, she released Camp Lisa, which was also released by Loeb's own Furious Rose Productions with distribution through Redeye, and produced by Loeb with Michelle Lewis and Dan Petty. The disc includes a mix of 21 original and classic camp songs and guest performers including Kay Hanley, Dave Gibbs, Nina Gordon, Jill Sobule, Lee Sklar, Maia Sharp, and funnyman/banjo player Steve Martin.
As Loeb spent many summers of her childhood at summer camp, Camp Lisa is inspired by her camp memories as well as 1970s-style rock and pop. Camp Lisa garnered National Parenting Publications Awards Honors, 2008 Parents' Choice and NPR's year-end Top 10 list of the best kids' music for 2008. In July 2010, she debuted her children's musical Camp Kappawanna, which is based on the songs from Camp Lisa.