Podcast Summary: All Of It with Alison Stewart

Episode: Music Producer Duo Wendy & Lisa
Date: August 20, 2025
Host: Alison Stewart (A)
Guests: Wendy Melvoin (E), Lisa Coleman (F), Susan Rogers (G)
Producer: Simon Close (B)
Timestamps in MM:SS format

Overview

This episode of "All Of It" spotlights legendary music producers Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman (Wendy & Lisa), lauded for their pioneering role as the first women nominated for a Grammy for Producer of the Year as part of Prince and the Revolution. The discussion explores their experiences as trailblazers in a male-dominated industry, their enduring partnership, technical expertise, and insights on the status and future of women in music production. A special highlight: the reunion with engineer Susan Rogers, who played a crucial role in Prince's sound.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Gender Disparity and the “Equalizers” Series

[00:09–01:49]

• Producer Simon Close explains the series’ purpose:

  “I just noticed… when we're doing research on the albums, how often it's a man's name you hear… Producers tend to be men. … there's some ratio that, like, of the last decade at least, of Billboard Hot 100 songs, 35 [male] producers to one female producer are credited…” (B, 01:04)

• The series aims to highlight and celebrate female producers and engineers.

2. Early Days: From Revolution to Producer Identity

[03:00–04:38]

• Wendy on Producer Identity:

  “I always heard things a certain way and wanted to learn how to tweak certain things and was very interested in the actual recording process… I’m an autodidact kind of gearhead. … As Wendy and Lisa, we're kind of always producing each other…” (E, 03:08)

• Lisa on Process:

  “I'm more the sort of it's all part of the same thing kind of person… to serve the song and make it as good as it can be. And if that’s what producing is, then that's what we do… I just thought I was a music maker.” (F, 04:03)

3. Learning Production with Prince & the Revolution

[04:38–07:02]

• Wendy on Learning from Prince & Susan Rogers:

  “The thoughtfulness about what's happening in an actual recording studio... Prince was just... there were some incredible lessons to be learned from his discipline and his thoughtfulness behind a board and how he ran a studio.” (E, 04:47) “Susan Rogers... taught me a lot about sound and about technique, and I've carried that with me.” (E, 05:44)

• Lisa on Overcoming Intimidation:

  “Not to be intimidated by the gear… Prince was fearless… I’m not afraid of pushing buttons… Just experimenting… If it sounds cool, you're on the right track. That's where I'm at.” (F, 06:03)

4. The Purple Rain Sessions: Energy, Work, and Collaboration

[09:00–11:15]

• Susan Rogers Remembers:

  “It was such an intense time… combination of seriousness… doubt… and then overconfidence… you pile all that together. And then when you add the raw talent... It’s pretty potent… We didn’t realize it at the time… but we can look back on it now and realize, damn, we had it going on, didn’t we?” (G, 09:05)

• Wendy on Atmosphere:

  “The energy… Everybody gave their A game. ... it felt different… That whole time felt bigger than all of us, but bigger than the sum, bigger than the one.” (E, 09:48)

• Lisa on Lifestyle:

  “We worked from morning to night… went to the warehouse and it was either recording, rehearsing, acting lessons, dance lessons… It was a daily thing, and it was all day… just a whole new kind of life.” (F, 10:35)

5. Mutual Admiration and Technical Genius

[11:15–15:18]

• Susan on Wendy & Lisa’s Talent:

  “They are so deeply, innately musical. When Lisa's on a keyboard… Wendy said it once, she pets the keys… And Wendy's skill set on guitar and her ear and her taste... You’re watching maestros at work, when you work with them, it’s really amazing.” (G, 11:26)

• Wendy on Choosing Susan as Engineer:

  “She has an incredible ability to learn the technical side of what she does… The way she can explain something in terms for the common man is spectacular… her enthusiasm… her love… I’ve never been able to recreate the kind of ear she has. She has a singular ear.” (E, 12:38)

• Lisa on Susan's Practical Ingenuity:

  “She can build something out of nothing… I had a problem with one of my keyboards… she just put a tuning knob on the front… figured out how to do that… And then her heart… she cares about the music… She's the full package.” (F, 14:13)

6. Sound, Production, and Signature Style

[15:18–16:21]

• Susan on the Mother of Pearl Track (from ‘Eroica’):

  “You’ll hear that quality… sculpting music with a gentle and firm hand. You hear their musical minds at work, and that's always a treat.” (G, 15:32)

7. Barriers and Progress for Women in Production

[17:32–21:29]

• Susan on the Industry:

  “It's a complicated equation… There are reasons why women choose not to enter these fields, and then… are blocked. But… it's a bigger question than I can answer.” (G, 17:32)

• Wendy’s Vision for Progress:

  “I'd like to see... more producers in different genres of music, not just pop… I think we just need to allow women the room and the space and the encouragement to do it… A lot of the guys gotta… make a little bit more room… It's very similar to the cooking world in a lot of men chefs and women chefs… There's a very common thread.” (E, 18:28)

• Lisa on Stereotypes:

  “When you say who do you want to produce your record?… You automatically think a man producer. ... It’s going to take a long time before a lot of records are produced by women and people let go of the… automatic default goes to man.” (F, 20:40)

• Wendy on Home Studios:

  “Women are doing a lot more themselves… but the 1%... is almost non-existent.” (E, 21:29)

8. Reflections on the Unreleased Prince Documentary

[21:58–23:57]

• Wendy on the Netflix Documentary:

  “I've had many thoughts about it… It's a shame that it ended up being as complicated and fraught as it ended up being… There are some magical moments in that documentary, and I hope at some point the world can see them.” (E, 22:30)

• Lisa’s Emotional Decision to Participate:

  “It took a long time. It took a lot of conviction, to be honest… I wasn't sure… It was time to do that big documentary. We had just come off touring and grieving… I decided to be part of it because I felt like I had a real honest opinion and experience of Prince and I wanted to share my point of view.” (F, 23:04)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I'm an autodidact kind of gearhead. … We're always producing each other.” – Wendy Melvoin (E, 03:08)
• “You pile all that together. And then when you add the raw talent… It’s pretty potent… damn, we had it going on, didn’t we?” – Susan Rogers (G, 09:05)
• “She's the full package.” – Lisa Coleman, about Susan Rogers (F, 14:13)
• “[Women] need the room and the space and the encouragement to do it…” – Wendy Melvoin (E, 18:28)
• “When you say who do you want to produce your record?... automatic default goes to man.” – Lisa Coleman (F, 20:40)
• “There are some magical moments in that documentary, and I hope at some point the world can see them.” – Wendy Melvoin (E, 22:30)

Timestamps for Major Segments

• 00:09 – Introduction & Series Context
• 03:00 – Wendy & Lisa: Early Producer Identity
• 04:38 – Lessons from Prince & Susan Rogers
• 09:00 – Memories of Purple Rain Sessions with Susan Rogers
• 11:15 – Susan on Wendy & Lisa’s Musicianship
• 12:38 – Wendy & Lisa praise Susan Rogers’s unique engineering
• 15:18 – ‘Eroica’/Mother of Pearl Segment
• 17:32 – How to Make Room for Women in Production
• 18:28 – Wendy & Lisa on Progress and Barriers
• 21:58 – The Netflix Prince Documentary

Conclusion

This episode offers an intimate, illuminating look at the creative partnership and technical brilliance of Wendy & Lisa, set against the broader context of women in music production. Through thoughtful conversation, the trio reflect on their legacy, mutual admiration, ongoing industry challenges, and the collaborative magic that changed pop music forever.