Soulful. Churchy. Smooth. Just exactly how do you describe Lisa Knowles-Smith? Over the years, she has captivated audiences with her ability to sing anything. She has proven that her quartet upbringing and love for all types of music has influenced a sound that cannot be duplicated.
Born and raised in Memphis, TN, she was the first born of two children. At the age of 3, her family noticed that she had a great love for music and even at a young age she was not afraid to sing it how she felt it. Her mother recalls, “Lisa would have to have a mic at all times, even if she wasn’t singing or she would cry.” At the age of 9, she started singing with the Brown Singers as an extra background singer. People could not believe that a little girl could have such a grown-up voice. She began to amaze
quartet singers everywhere with this old soul and her ability to handle a stage and crowd.
As she got older, she became a fan of jazz, blues, rock and country music. This in turn had a massive effect on her style of music, fusing Quartet with other genres of music. After 18 years of singing with The Brown Singers, she decided it was finally time to share her love of music on a broader spectrum. She began to step out and perform solo as “Lisa Knowles”. She has been featured on several projects with some the industries greatest, including, James Fortune, Pastor John P Kee, JJ Hairston, Erica Campbell, The Williams Brothers, and many more.
In 2012, she became a background singer for James Fortune & FIYA. She toured with the “United as One” tour as a background vocalist for James Fortune, Vashawn Mitchell, Kierra Sheard and Zacardi Cortez. She has also appeared on Bobby Jones Gospel with James Fortune and FIYA leading the hit “It Could Be Worse” and “Miracles”. In 2014, her family group released a new project entitled “The Evolution Continues” and it took the gospel charts by storm debuting at #6. In 2015, they were nominated and took home 2 Stellar Awards for Quartet of The Year and Traditional Group/Duo of The Year.
In 2017, Lisa launched her first women’s retreat “Loving Me Again” with over 300 women registered in Birmngham, AL. She has continued to empower and share love and support through this event annually. In June 2019, Lisa and her husband, Marcus released their first book “Life Happens: His & Her Perspectives”. She also recorded her first “Live” solo record in June of 2019 and from that live record Lisa is preparing to release her follow up single “All I want Is You”. Lisa is excited about her new music; she believes that this music along with her traditional background makes for “good church music”. She shared, “This solo record, doesn’t sound like me but it sounds like me. It’s different from what people are used to from me but that’s what makes it so special”.