Kenny Chesney shared a heartfelt tribute to his longtime friend after learning about her death.
The two of them “grew up together in this business,” Chesney recalled of the TV reporter, producer, writer and “big executive,” Lisa Lee. Lee died of brain cancer on Saturday (August 21), Variety reports. She was 52.
Lee was also “one of the Academy’s very own,” the Academy of Country Music wrote on its social media pages: “She was part of the heart and soul of the Academy for 15 years, and Country Music is better for having her in it.”
Lee served as the Senior Vice President of Creative and Content Production following her role as a TV journalist and producer, according to her ACM bio, current as of November 2020. Lee also took on the role of producer of the ACM Honors, the annual live event at the Ryman Auditorium. The Arkansas native earned her bachelor's degree from University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, and her master's degree from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism in Chicago. Among her achievements, Lee wrote the book This Is Country: A Backstage Pass to the Academy of Country Music Awards, marking five decades of the ACM awards, her bio reads.
During her work with the country music industry, Lee covered some of Chesney’s “heroes and my friends, she wrote about me and my mother,” he wrote in his tribute on his social media channels.
“She truly cared about country music – and I absolutely cared about her,” Chesney reflected. “Good-bye, my sweet friend.”