Esther Phillips

Biography

Esther Phillips (December 23, 1935 – August 7, 1984), born Esther Mae Jones, was an American singer, best known for her R&B vocals. She rose to prominence in 1950, scoring several major R&B hits including "Double Crossing Blues×Double Crossing BluesAlbum · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 27 tracks1Double Crossing Blues2:452Stop Crying2:413Misery2:434A Longing in My Heart2:215Wedding Boogie2:546Get Together Blues2:367Cupid’s Boogie2:338Love Will Break Your Heart2:539Please Don’t Send Me3:0110Just Can’t Get Free2:3111Deceiving Blues2:3212I Dream2:2113Talking All All Out of My Head2:4414Mistrusting Blues2:5915I Don’t Care2:5816Lover’s Lane Boogie2:3817If You Want Me2:5018Lost Dream Blues3:1119He’s a No Good Man2:0920Faraway Christmas Blues3:1821Sit Back Down2:1922Oo Papa Do2:3423It’s So Good2:2424You Can Bet Your Life2:4225Do You Ever Think of Me2:2126T’Ain’t What’cha Say It’s What’cha Do2:4927If It’s News to You2:38" and "Mistrustin' Blues" under the moniker "Little Esther." In the 1960s, she achieved chart success with the country song "Release Me×Release Me2006 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Release Me3:192Mojo Hanna2:233I Really Don’t Want to Know2:024Tomorrow Night3:305Double Crossin’ Blues2:416Hello Walls3:227Just Out of Reach3:088Catch Me, I’m Fallin’2:379I Can’t Help It3:0610I’m in Love2:21" and recorded in the pop, jazz, blues and soul genres. Phillips received four Grammy nominations, including for her album From a Whisper to a Scream×From a Whisper to a Scream1971 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracksA1Home Is Where the Hatred Is3:25A2From a Whisper to a Scream4:15A3To Lay Down Beside You5:00A4That’s All Right With Me3:20A5’Til Me Back Ain’t Got No Bone3:15B1Sweet Touch of Love3:15B2Baby, I’m for Real4:20B3Your Love Is So Doggone Good3:55B4Scarred Knees6:15 in 1973, as well as for the album that featured her disco recording of "What a Diff'rence a Day Makes," which was a major hit in 1975. She died from liver and kidney failure due to long-term drug abuse in 1984.

Early life

Esther Phillips was born Esther Mae Jones in Galveston, Texas, the daughter of Arthur Jones and Lucille (née) Washington. Her parents divorced during her adolescence, and she divided her time between her father, in Houston, and her mother, in the Watts section of Los Angeles. She was brought up singing in church and was reluctant to enter a talent contest at a local blues club, but her sister insisted. A mature singer at the age of 14, she won the amateur talent contest in 1949 at the Barrelhouse Club, owned by Johnny Otis. Otis was so impressed that he recorded her for Modern Records and added her to his traveling revue, the California Rhythm and Blues Caravan, billed as Little Esther. She later took the surname Phillips as her stage name, reportedly inspired by a sign at a gas station.

Early career

Her first hit record was "Double Crossing Blues×Double Crossing BluesAlbum · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 27 tracks1Double Crossing Blues2:452Stop Crying2:413Misery2:434A Longing in My Heart2:215Wedding Boogie2:546Get Together Blues2:367Cupid’s Boogie2:338Love Will Break Your Heart2:539Please Don’t Send Me3:0110Just Can’t Get Free2:3111Deceiving Blues2:3212I Dream2:2113Talking All All Out of My Head2:4414Mistrusting Blues2:5915I Don’t Care2:5816Lover’s Lane Boogie2:3817If You Want Me2:5018Lost Dream Blues3:1119He’s a No Good Man2:0920Faraway Christmas Blues3:1821Sit Back Down2:1922Oo Papa Do2:3423It’s So Good2:2424You Can Bet Your Life2:4225Do You Ever Think of Me2:2126T’Ain’t What’cha Say It’s What’cha Do2:4927If It’s News to You2:38", with the Johnny Otis Quintette and the Robins (a vocal group), released in 1950 by Savoy Records, which reached number 1 on the Billboard R&B chart. She made several hit records for Savoy with the Johnny Otis Orchestra, including "Mistrusting Blues" (a duet with Mel Walker) and "Cupid's Boogie", both of which also went to number 1 that year. Four more of her records made the Top 10 in the same year: "Misery" (number 9), "Deceivin' Blues" (number 4), "Wedding Boogie" (number 6), and "Far Away Blues (Xmas Blues)" (number 6). Few female artists performing in any genre had such success in their debut year.
Phillips left Otis and the Savoy label at the end of 1950 and signed with Federal Records. But just as quickly as the hits had started, they stopped. She recorded more than thirty sides for Federal, but only one, "Ring-a-Ding-Doo", made the charts, reaching number 8 in 1952. Not working with Otis was part of her problem; the other part was her deepening dependence on heroin, to which she was addicted by the middle of the decade.
In 1954, she returned to Houston to live with her father and recuperate. Short on money, she worked in small nightclubs around the South, punctuated by periodic hospital stays in Lexington, Kentucky, to treat her addiction. In 1962, Kenny Rogers discovered her singing at a Houston club and helped her get a contract with Lenox Records, owned by his brother Lelan.

Comeback

Phillips eventually recovered enough to launch a comeback in 1962. Now billed as Esther Phillips instead of Little Esther, she recorded a country tune, "Release Me×Release Me2006 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Release Me3:192Mojo Hanna2:233I Really Don’t Want to Know2:024Tomorrow Night3:305Double Crossin’ Blues2:416Hello Walls3:227Just Out of Reach3:088Catch Me, I’m Fallin’2:379I Can’t Help It3:0610I’m in Love2:21", with the producer Bob Gans. This went to number 1 on the R&B chart and number 8 on the pop chart. After several other minor R&B hits for Lenox, she was signed by Atlantic Records. Her cover of the Beatles' song "And I Love Him×And I Love Him1965 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1And I Love Him2:402’Tis Autumn2:253Shangri‐La2:424Moonglow & Theme From Picnic2:495Out of the Blue2:496People2:237Makin’ Whoopee2:438Girl From Ipanema2:449I Wish You Love2:5610If You Love Me, Really Love Me3:2711Too Soon to Know2:5512Make Believe Dreams3:08" nearly made the R&B Top 20 in 1965. The Beatles flew her to the UK for her first overseas performances. In July 2018, Paul McCartney recalled "the earliest [Beatles cover] that really caught my ear was by Esther Phillips ... 'And I Love Him' which is really great. I love it."
She had other hits in the 1960s for Atlantic, such as the Jimmy Radcliffe song "Try Me", which featured a saxophone part by King Curtis (and is often mistakenly credited as the James Brown song of the same title), but she had no more chart-toppers. Her heroin dependence worsened, and she checked into a rehabilitation facility. There she met the singer Sam Fletcher. While undergoing treatment, she recorded some sides for Roulette in 1969, mostly produced by Lelan Rogers. On her release, she returned to Los Angeles and re-signed with Atlantic. Her friendship with Fletcher resulted in a performance engagement at Freddie Jett's Pied Piper club in late 1969, which produced the album Burnin'. She performed with the Johnny Otis Show at the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1970.

The 1970s and 1980s

One of her biggest post-1950s triumphs was her first album for the Kudu label, From a Whisper to a Scream×From a Whisper to a Scream1971 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracksA1Home Is Where the Hatred Is3:25A2From a Whisper to a Scream4:15A3To Lay Down Beside You5:00A4That’s All Right With Me3:20A5’Til Me Back Ain’t Got No Bone3:15B1Sweet Touch of Love3:15B2Baby, I’m for Real4:20B3Your Love Is So Doggone Good3:55B4Scarred Knees6:15, in 1972. The lead track, "Home Is Where the Hatred Is", an account of drug use written by Gil Scott-Heron, was nominated for a Grammy Award. Phillips lost to Aretha Franklin, but Franklin presented the trophy to her, saying she should have won it instead.
In 1975, she released a disco-style update of Dinah Washington's "What a Diff'rence a Day Makes", her biggest hit single since "Release Me×Release Me2006 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Release Me3:192Mojo Hanna2:233I Really Don’t Want to Know2:024Tomorrow Night3:305Double Crossin’ Blues2:416Hello Walls3:227Just Out of Reach3:088Catch Me, I’m Fallin’2:379I Can’t Help It3:0610I’m in Love2:21". It reached the Top 20 in the United States and the Top 10 in the UK Singles Chart. On November 8, 1975, she performed the song on an episode of NBC's Saturday Night (later called Saturday Night Live) hosted by Candice Bergen. The accompanying album of the same name became her biggest seller yet, with arranger Joe Beck on guitar, Michael Brecker on tenor sax, David Sanborn on alto sax, Randy Brecker on trumpet, Steve Khan on guitar and Don Grolnick on keyboards.
She continued to record and perform throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, completing seven albums for Kudu/CTI and four for Mercury Records, which signed her in 1977. Her first album for Mercury, You've Come a Long Way, Baby, was released that year; according to Village Voice critic Robert Christgau, "using Kudu producer Pee Wee Ellis and the basic Kudu formula—mixing blues and standards and rock with MOR and disco crossovers—she comes up with her most consistent album of the '70s."
In 1983, she charted for the final time with "Turn Me Out", which reached number 85 on the R&B chart. She completed recording her final album, A Way To Say Goodbye×A Way to Say Goodbye1986 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracksA1It’s All in the Game2:40A2Mama Said3:07A3Goin’ in Circles5:03A4Nowhere to Run3:28A5We Are Through3:08B1Fa Fa Fa (Sad Song)3:05B2Mr. Bojangles4:42B3Shake This Off4:34B4A Way to Say Goodbye4:05, a few months before her death; it was released by the Muse jazz label in 1986.

Death

Phillips died at UCLA Medical Center in Carson, California, in 1984, at the age of 48, from liver and kidney failure due to long-term drug abuse. Her funeral services were conducted by Johnny Otis.
Originally buried in an unmarked pauper's grave at Lincoln Memorial Park in Compton, she was reinterred in 1985 in the Morning Light section at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills, in Los Angeles. A bronze marker recognizes her career achievements and quotes a Bible passage: "In My Father's House Are Many Mansions" (John 14:2).

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Phillips was twice nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in 1986 and 1987, but has not yet been inducted.

Blues Hall of Fame

In 2023 Phillips was inducted in the Blues Hall of Fame.

Singles

• With the Johnny Otis Orchestra
• * With Big Al Downing
• ** "What a Diff'rence a Day Makes" also reached number 2 on the US Dance chart. Another two-sided single, "Magic's In the Air" / "Boy I Really Tied One On", peaked at number 5 on the same chart in 1976.

Complete singles for Federal Records, 1951–1953

All released on 45- and 78-rpm records

1951
Federal 12016, "The Deacon Moves In" (with the Dominoes) / "Other Lips, Other Arms"
Federal 12023, "I'm a Bad, Bad Girl" / "Don't Make a Fool Out of Me"
Federal 12036, "Lookin' for a Man to Satisfy My Soul" / "Heart to Heart" (with The Dominoes)
Federal 12042, "Cryin' and Singin' the Blues" / "Tell Him That I Need Him"

1952
Federal 12055, "Ring-a-Ding-Doo" (with Bobby Nunn) / "The Cryin' Blues"
Federal 12063, "Summertime" / "The Storm"
Federal 12065, "Better Beware×Better Beware1990 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 20 tracks1Looking for a Man2:442Other Lips, Other Arms2:393The Deacon Moves On2:464I’m a Bad, Bad Girl2:575Crying and Singing the Blues2:486Ring‐A‐Ding Doo2:557Hold Me3:098Better Beware2:399Aged and Mellow Blues2:4710Ramblin’ Blues2:3511The Storm3:0912Hollerin’ and Screamin’2:5813Saturday Night Daddy2:4114Mainliner2:3715You Took My Love Too Fast2:2916Last Laugh Blues2:4717Flesh, Blood and Bones2:1618Turn the Lamps Down Low2:2219Cherry Wine2:2120Hound Dog2:34" / "I'll Be There"
Federal 12078, "Aged and Mellow" / "Bring My Lovin' Back to Me"
Federal 12090, "Ramblin' Blues" / "Somebody New"
Federal 12100, "Mainliner" (with 4 Jacks) / "Saturday Night Daddy" (with Bobby Nunn)

1953
Federal 12108, "Last Laugh Blues" (with Little Willie Littlefield) / "Flesh, Blood and Bones"
Federal 12115, "Turn The Lamp Down Low" (with Little Willie Littlefield) / "Hollerin' and Screamin'"
Federal 12122, "You Took My Love Too Fast" (with Bobby Nunn) / "Street Lights"
Federal 12126, "Hound Dog" / "Sweet Lips"
Federal 12142, "Cherry Wine" / "Love Oh Love"
Taken from the original logbooks of the defunct Federal Records, which I copied decades ago.