So Intense

Lisa Fischer mostly works as a backup singer and is best known for sharing the mic with Mick Jagger and The Rolling Stones; she often goes toe-to-toe with the famously lipped legend in concert. She's also one of the stars of 20 Feet from Stardom, the excellent 2013 documentary about the lives of backup singers. In 1991, however, after spending years working as a backup singer for Luther Vandross and the Stones, Fischer worked up her lone solo album, So Intense, and proved she had the chops to lead. “Save Me” became a modest No. 7 R&B hit, while “How Can I Ease the Pain?” went to No. 1 on the R&B charts and won the 1991 Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. Fischer then returned to backup singing with Vandross, the Stones, and Tina Turner, among others, leaving this exquisite 1991 album (recorded with help from Vandross, Narada Michael Walden, Marcus Miller, and Attala Zane Giles) as her only solo shot. It includes her cover of Skylark’s 1973 hit “Wildflower” and the excellent “Chain of Broken Hearts” and “Last Goodbye.”