Meet Lisa Stanley
Born in Sligo, Ireland, Lisa is the daughter of Irish entertainment legends Maisie McDaniel and Fintan Stanley. Following in the footsteps of her famous parents, she started singing and writing her own songs in her early teens. After a short time learning her craft on the local circuit with bands like The Tree Tops playing weddings and corporate functions, Lisa first came to national prominence when she performed at the Cavan International Song Contest. She sang "Dreamer of Dreams," a song written by Larry Keogh. The following year she took her own composition, "Shine," from a field of over 1000 entries to the final eight of Ireland's National Song Contest. Although she lost out to Eamonn Toal's entry, "Millennium of Love," which went on to represent Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest, the experience gave her the confidence to continue writing original material. The same year, she performed "Shine" at the Baltic Song Contest which took place in Karlshamn, Sweden. Again she reached the finals which were broadcast on Sweden's national TV station, Sveriges Television AB.
In early 2004, Lisa toured the country with the very popular show “Dancehall Queues and Hucklebuck Shoes.” The show featured the children of famous Irish Showband stars: Richard Rock (son of the legendary Miami Showband lead singer, Dickie Rock), Claudine Day (daughter of Eileen Reid and Jimmy Day of the Cadets) and Brian Dunphy (son of Sean Dunphy of the Hoedowners, and more recently a members of the group, The High Kings).
One of the shows was attended by promoter Willie Carty, who at the time was looking after the fortunes of stars like Mike Denver and Robert Mizzell. Impressed by Lisa's voice and professionalism, he asked her to front a new band he was putting on the road. For the next six months she toured with her own country band, The Fender Band, doing the dance and theatre circuit across Ireland and Northern Ireland. At the same time, she released a CD single, which included Blackboard of My Heart and Roomful of Roses which were both two of the most requested songs on the local radio stations at the time. Following this Lisa took a break from touring to look after her young daughter, Sofia, and to stay close to her mother, Maisie, who was in declining health. Sadly, Maisie passed away on June 28th, 2008. Devastated by the loss of her mother, who was also her mentor in the entertainment business, Lisa was unsure what her next career move would be.
Over the following months, Lisa's family and friends urged her to return to the stage. After much soul searching, she decided the best way she could pay tribute to mother's legacy would be to record an album of her mother's best known hits. In late 2008, Lisa started the process of narrowing down Maisie's hits to the most popular ten songs which she would record. She enlisted the help of Mike and Tom Kelly and started work on the CD in Tom's Ballina based studio. Using top session musicians, including Matt Curran who recently toured with American session guitarist, Brent Mason, and former fiddler supreme of the Cotton Mills Boys, Charlie Arkins, the CD took several months to record. Lisa also included her rendering of "You Raise Me Up," a personal choice dedicated to her Mum. As work on the album progressed, a family friend suggested that it might be a nice idea to ask some of Maisie’s fellow artists from the world of country music if they would like to add their voices to the album. She approached Sandy Kelly and Philomena Begley, two of Ireland's top country female vocalists to sing duets on the CD, along with Maisie's sister, Deirdre McDaniel, a fine singer in her own right.
After the recording was done, Lisa said “I know that my Mum would be very proud to know that her old friends Philomena and Sandy are paying tribute to her memory on this album. I also felt it would be fitting to have my mother’s sister Deirdre McDaniel and my father, Fintan Stanley, also play on the album to give it a personal touch."
Today, Lisa is getting ready for the next phase of her young career. With her current album "Lisa Stanley Sings The Hits Of Maisie McDaniel" in the shops and selling well, she is preparing for the release of her second studio album, which should be out by October 2011. This new album will feature the very popular new single "Walking In My Mother's Footsteps" which has been one of the most requested songs on Irish radio stations over the past few months, as well as some more brand new songs which have been written for Lisa.
In early 2004, Lisa toured the country with the very popular show “Dancehall Queues and Hucklebuck Shoes.” The show featured the children of famous Irish Showband stars: Richard Rock (son of the legendary Miami Showband lead singer, Dickie Rock), Claudine Day (daughter of Eileen Reid and Jimmy Day of the Cadets) and Brian Dunphy (son of Sean Dunphy of the Hoedowners, and more recently a members of the group, The High Kings).
One of the shows was attended by promoter Willie Carty, who at the time was looking after the fortunes of stars like Mike Denver and Robert Mizzell. Impressed by Lisa's voice and professionalism, he asked her to front a new band he was putting on the road. For the next six months she toured with her own country band, The Fender Band, doing the dance and theatre circuit across Ireland and Northern Ireland. At the same time, she released a CD single, which included Blackboard of My Heart and Roomful of Roses which were both two of the most requested songs on the local radio stations at the time. Following this Lisa took a break from touring to look after her young daughter, Sofia, and to stay close to her mother, Maisie, who was in declining health. Sadly, Maisie passed away on June 28th, 2008. Devastated by the loss of her mother, who was also her mentor in the entertainment business, Lisa was unsure what her next career move would be.
Over the following months, Lisa's family and friends urged her to return to the stage. After much soul searching, she decided the best way she could pay tribute to mother's legacy would be to record an album of her mother's best known hits. In late 2008, Lisa started the process of narrowing down Maisie's hits to the most popular ten songs which she would record. She enlisted the help of Mike and Tom Kelly and started work on the CD in Tom's Ballina based studio. Using top session musicians, including Matt Curran who recently toured with American session guitarist, Brent Mason, and former fiddler supreme of the Cotton Mills Boys, Charlie Arkins, the CD took several months to record. Lisa also included her rendering of "You Raise Me Up," a personal choice dedicated to her Mum. As work on the album progressed, a family friend suggested that it might be a nice idea to ask some of Maisie’s fellow artists from the world of country music if they would like to add their voices to the album. She approached Sandy Kelly and Philomena Begley, two of Ireland's top country female vocalists to sing duets on the CD, along with Maisie's sister, Deirdre McDaniel, a fine singer in her own right.
After the recording was done, Lisa said “I know that my Mum would be very proud to know that her old friends Philomena and Sandy are paying tribute to her memory on this album. I also felt it would be fitting to have my mother’s sister Deirdre McDaniel and my father, Fintan Stanley, also play on the album to give it a personal touch."
Today, Lisa is getting ready for the next phase of her young career. With her current album "Lisa Stanley Sings The Hits Of Maisie McDaniel" in the shops and selling well, she is preparing for the release of her second studio album, which should be out by October 2011. This new album will feature the very popular new single "Walking In My Mother's Footsteps" which has been one of the most requested songs on Irish radio stations over the past few months, as well as some more brand new songs which have been written for Lisa.