Singer/songwriter Lisa St. Lou has just released a scathing new video for “Ain’t No Good Man,” the title track off her debut full-length album, out now. Steeped in the music of New Orleans, with appearances by Cyril, Ian, and Ivan Neville, “the soul Queen of New Orleans” Irma Thomas, Tony Hall, and a host of other Crescent City scions, ‘Ain’t No Good Man’ spent seven weeks on the Billboard charts upon its release, with lead single “I’ve Seen The Light” becoming one of Billboard’s most-added songs at Adult Contemporary radio, alongside Taylor Swift and Lewis Capaldi.
“Ain’t No Good Man” tells the story of St. Lou’s self-rediscovery after surviving a soulless, emotionally abusive marriage. “I grew up reading the same fairytales that most girls did: ‘prince saves princess and they live happily ever after,’” she explains. “The fairytale was shattered when someone I thought could do no wrong did wrong, and it made me question whether there were any good men out there at all. Once I accepted that it was my responsibility for putting so much reliance on a man, the song became the album’s anthem, a battle cry for other women to write the fairytale for themselves. Well, that—and it’s a lot more fun to channel your anger into an upbeat, old school R&B song with the funkiest, most soulful musicians on the planet!”
A seeker of the soul who found a way to drown-out the demons of the past with her sensational voice, Lisa’s passion for music began as a young girl, performing for a small congregation at her grandmother’s Baptist Church in St. Louis. Pressured to pursue a formal education rather than a career as a recording artist, she moved to New York to study music, received a master’s degree in opera, and ultimately landed a role in The Producers on Broadway. But her personal ambitions clashed with the desires of her husband, and when the marriage became untenable, Lisa made the toughest decision of her life, leaving the life she knew and refocusing her energies on her love of music. “Ain’t No Good Man” marks Lisa’s return to the spirit that moved her to sing in church. It’s the story of a woman who went through it, came out the other side, and lived to tell the tale.
Summoning the legends that inspired her like Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin, and Janis Joplin, Lisa began a collaboration with Grammy-nominated producer/songwriter Tor Hyams, which ultimately lead to a complete exorcism of the relationship demons that had plagued her whole life. And “Ain’t No Good Man” was born.
Twelve original songs that pay homage to ’60s soul started as simple piano/vocal demo’s, but quickly morphed into much more when the musical royalty of New Orleans got involved. Meters founder Cyril Neville was drawn to the project when he heard “Whatcha’ Gonna Do.” Even the soul queen of New Orleans, Irma Thomas, threw down her signature stanky blues vocals on “Nothing Is Ever Enough (for a man).” If there was any question that a woman could start over in her forties, Cyril responded, “sh*t, I ain’t listening to her age.”
But the album isn’t about bad men. Or age. It’s about the resilient “spirit of St. Lou”; facing the ugly truth with a smile and a song. This is Lisa St. Lou, the same girl who found her voice at her grandmother’s church in south St. Louis. Full circle.
