Sam Phillips

Biography

Leslie Ann "Sam" Phillips (born January 28, 1962), is an American singer, songwriter and an actor. Her albums include the critically acclaimed Martinis & Bikinis×Martinis & Bikinis8 March 1994 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Love and Kisses0:562Signposts2:193Same Rain4:114Baby I Can’t Please You3:305Circle of Fire3:126Strawberry Road4:057When I Fall5:078Same Changes4:449Black Sky4:0310Fighting With Fire3:0011I Need Love3:3912Wheel of the Broken Voice4:0013Gimme Some Truth3:27 in 1994 and Fan Dance in 2001. She has also composed scores for the television shows Gilmore Girls, Bunheads, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

Early life

Phillips was born in Glendale, California to parents William and Peggy Phillips. She is the second of three children and has a brother and a sister. She was given the nickname Sam, which would later become her stage name.
Phillips started singing at a young age, along with dancing, painting, and playing the piano. Phillips also started studying philosophy and fundamentalism at the age of 14. Phillips began writing songs as a teenager to cope with her parents' divorce.

Career

Phillips began her musical career in the early 1980s in the contemporary Christian music industry, where she sang background vocals for Christian artists Mark Heard and Randy Stonehill.
Phillips was signed as a solo artist with Myrrh Records under her given name and recorded four Christian pop albums: Beyond Saturday Night×Beyond Saturday Night1983 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracksA1Hourglass3:33A2Gina3:36A3Put Your Heart in Me4:05A4I'm Finding3:26A5Beyond Saturday Night4:30B1Bring Me Through4:50B2Heart of Hearts3:17B3Will They Love Him4:35B4He's Gonna Hear You Cryin'3:14B5Let Me Give3:47, Dancing with Danger×Dancing With Danger1984 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Dancing With Danger3:292I Won't Let It Come Between Us4:333Strength of My Life5:354Give 'em All You've Got (Tonight)4:255By My Spirit4:436Hiding in the Shadows3:527Powder Room Politics2:408Light of Love4:189Song in the Night3:5210Here He Comes With My Heart2:4811By My Spirit (radio version)5:42, Black and White in a Grey World×Black and White in a Grey World1985 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Black and White in a Grey World4:212Tug of War3:223When the World Is New4:314Psalm 553:505Your Kindness4:036Larger Than Life3:457The More I Know You5:028Smoke Screen3:399You're My Lord4:1410Walls of Silence4:5511You're the Same4:1512Love Is Not Lost3:47, and The Turning. The Turning teamed her with producer T Bone Burnett, who had worked with artists Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, and Roy Orbison. The two would later get married.
Several of Phillips' songs became Top 10 singles on Christian radio and Myrrh Records promoted her as "the Christian Cyndi Lauper". Phillips was never comfortable with this image, and it was a bone of contention between her and her label. She began using the name "Sam" professionally in 1988 when she left Myrrh Records and signed with Virgin Records in order to distance herself from her prior persona.
With The Indescribable Wow, Philips moved into mainstream music. The album featured the orchestrations of Van Dyke Parks and took influence from 1960's pop. Cruel Inventions was released in 1991, and included a guest performance by Elvis Costello. 1994's Martinis and Bikinis was widely praised by music critics and was nominated for a Grammy Award, her second nomination (the first was as Leslie Phillips).
In 1995, Phillips made her film acting debut as the mute terrorist Katya in the Bruce Willis blockbuster Die Hard with a Vengeance. In 1996, Phillips released Omnipop (It's Only a Flesh Wound Lambchop), which featured a song co-written by R.E.M. Phillips made a cameo appearance in the 1997 Wim Wenders film The End of Violence, singing part of the song "Animals on Wheels" from Omnipop. After releasing a contractually obligated "best of" album in 1999, Virgin Records dropped Phillips from its roster.
In 2001, Phillips signed with Nonesuch Records, evolving her musical style to a stripped-down, acoustically based sound on her album called Fan Dance×Fan Dance31 July 2001 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1The Fan Dance3:462Edge of the World3:013Five Colors3:434Wasting My Time3:085Taking Pictures1:576How to Dream3:087Soul Eclipse3:128Incinerator2:039Love Is Everywhere I Go2:0310Below Surface1:4211Is That Your Zebra?1:4912Say What You Mean3:39, as well as guest appearances from musical partners Gillian Welch on vocals and David Rawlings on piano, for whom T Bone Burnett had produced several years earlier. Phillips also began writing music for and scoring the television series Gilmore Girls, and appeared in the final episode of season six, performing "Taking Pictures" from her Fan Dance album. In 2004, she released A Boot and a Shoe, another collection of acoustically based songs, similar in style to Fan Dance. In 2006 she was ranked at No. 94 on Paste magazine's list of the top 100 living songwriters.
After the release of A Boot and a Shoe, Phillips and T Bone Burnett, who had been her longtime producer, divorced, although they continued to work together to finish her album. Her album Don't Do Anything×Don't Do Anything3 June 2008 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1No Explanations3:082Can't Come Down1:593Another Song2:154Don't Do Anything3:285Little Plastic Life2:176My Career in Chemistry2:207Flowers Up2:288Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us2:449Shake It Down3:5310Under the Night3:0611Signal4:3612Watching Out of This World3:03 was self-produced and released in 2008.
In October 2009, Phillips launched The Long Play, a music subscription service offering digital releases without a record label. The first subscription only EP, Hypnotists in Paris×Hypnotists In Paris2010 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 6 tracks1Memory Slope2:432What It All Means1:323I Don't Want To Fall In Love2:034Say What You Mean3:365So Glad You're Here2:536I Need Love3:16, was recorded with the Section Quartet and a Christmas collection Cold Dark Night, Magic for Everyone, Old Tin Pan, and Days of the One Night Stands followed, with the full-length album Cameras in the Sky×Cameras in the Sky12 February 2011 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Tell Me2Broken Circle3Happy Mediums4Leap Towards the Earth5Throw Yourself Away6Little White Feet7Hide Space8Cameras in the Sky9When I'm a Camera10So Glad You're Here being released in early 2010. In Spring of 2011 she issued Solid State, a public CD release comprising 13 of the best songs from her subscription service.
In 2012, it was announced that she would be reunited with Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino by scoring music for the short-lived American TV show Bunheads.
Phillips described her next album, Pretty Time Bomb (later renamed Push Any Button×Push Any Button13 August 2013 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Pretty Time Bomb2:362All Over Me2:583When I'm Alone2:404See You in Dreams4:275Going1:366Things I Shouldn't Have Told You2:487Speaking of Pictures2:338You Know I Won't2:329No Time Like Now3:5810Can't See Straight2:5811Ask Me to Stay3:0812Listen to the Rain4:1913Power World3:3514How to Dream3:09), as being "a nostalgic sort of dream of being a pop star in the 60s and early 70s. It's a sweet kind of album and I don't know where it came from. I don't know what compelled me to make it. It's probably a bad idea, but every time I listen to what I've done, it makes me really happy. So I figure, that must mean something and I should go ahead and put it out there."
Push Any Button was released on August 13, 2013. Phillips has described Push Any Button as 'an impressionistic version of the AM pop radio playing inside her head'—a way of 'looking at the future through the past. For the vinyl release through her website, Phillips created a limited run of unique handmade collages on repurposed vintage LP sleeves sourced from flea markets. In 2015, a suite of these collage artworks were exhibited at Gertrude Contemporary in Melbourne, Australia in an exhibition called Lost and Profound curated by Daniel Mudie Cunningham.
In 2013, Phillips' first live concert album, Sam Phillips: Live @ Largo at The Coronet×Live @ Largo At The Coronet17 August 2018 · Album · LiveSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 17 tracks1I Wanted to Be Alone2:482Things I Shouldn't Have Told You2:343All Over Me3:124Pretty Time Bomb2:445Leap Toward the Earth3:056Shake It Down3:317Love Is Everywhere I Go2:128Going1:539Taking Pictures1:4810Flowers Up2:5111See You in Dreams4:3212You Know I Won't2:5213Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us2:5314If I Could Write2:2915One Day Late3:1316Reflecting Light3:0417Zero Zero Zero4:16, was made available digitally through her website, and is also the title of a 2019 documentary directed by Dave Rygalski, who filmed the 2013 performances.
On November 21, 2016, Phillips released an eight-track downloadable EP Human Contact is Never Easy×Human Contact Is Never Easy20 November 2016 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracks1World on Sticks (From the upcoming album "World on Sticks")2:232Troubles Won't Stay (From the upcoming album "World on Sticks")2:453Candles and Stars (From the upcoming album "World on Sticks")5:104Pretty Time Bomb (From the album "Push Any Button")2:375Walk Don't Drive (From the Upcoming album "World on Sticks")1:326When I'm Alone (From the album "Push Any Button")2:427If I Could Write (From the concert film "Live at Largo at The Coronet")2:408Reflecting Light (From the concert film "Live at Largo at The Coronet")3:10, which included new tracks off her next album World on Sticks×World on Sticks28 September 2018 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Walking Trees1:352World on Sticks2:283Tears in the Ground3:404American Landfill Kings3:095How Much Is Enough4:186Different Shades of Light3:567I Want to Be You2:518Roll Em3:509Teilhard2:1910Continuous Limit3:2911Candles and Stars5:08.
Phillips reunited with Amy Sherman-Palladino as composer for Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, a revival of the television series, which was released on Netflix on November 25, 2016.
In September 2018, Phillips released World on Sticks.
A selection of Sam Phillips' score for Gilmore Girls was released on the Mutant label, in association with Warner Bros' WaterTower Music, in November 2025 on vinyl, cassette, CD and streaming platforms.

Personal life

In 1989, Phillips married producer and musician T-Bone Burnett. Phillips and Burnett divorced in 2004; both have since remarried, Phillips to Eric Gorfain.

Selected awards

1985: Grammy Award for Best Gospel Vocal Performance, Female (nominee) for Black and White in a Grey World – as Leslie Phillips
1994: Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance (nominee) for "Circle of Fire" from Martinis & Bikinis – as Sam Phillips
2011: Image, Denise Levertov Award

As Leslie Phillips

1983: Beyond Saturday Night (Myrrh)
1984: Dancing with Danger (Myrrh)
1985: Black and White in a Grey World (Myrrh)
1987: The Turning (Myrrh)

As Sam Phillips

1988: The Indescribable Wow (Virgin)
1991: Cruel Inventions (Virgin)
1994: Martinis & Bikinis (Virgin)
1996: Omnipop (It's Only a Flesh Wound Lambchop) (Virgin)
2001: Fan Dance (Nonesuch)
2004: A Boot and a Shoe (Nonesuch)
2008: Don't Do Anything (Nonesuch)
2011: Cameras in the Sky (Littlebox)
2011: Solid State (Littlebox)
2013: Push Any Button (Littlebox)
2018: World on Sticks (Littlebox)
2019: Cold Dark Nights (Littlebox)
2025: Gilmore Girls - Soundtrack from the Original Series (Mutant)

Digital EPs

2009: Hypnotists in Paris
2009: Cold Dark Night
2010: Magic for Everybody
2010: Old Tin Pan
2010: Days of the One Night Stands
2016: Human Contact is Never Easy

As Leslie Phillips

1987: Recollection (Myrrh)
2007: The Definitive Collection (Myrrh)

As Sam Phillips

1998: Zero Zero Zero (Virgin)
2008: The Disappearing Act 1987–1998 (Raven)

Compilation appearances

1981: Back to the Rock – "Bring Me Through" (Leslie Phillips)
1985: The Wedding Album Vol. 2 – "Enough for Me" (Leslie Phillips) - also recompiled in 1988 on Love Songs for Christian Couples
1986: Not Gonna Bow – "Black and White in a Grey World×Black and White in a Grey World1985 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Black and White in a Grey World4:212Tug of War3:223When the World Is New4:314Psalm 553:505Your Kindness4:036Larger Than Life3:457The More I Know You5:028Smoke Screen3:399You're My Lord4:1410Walls of Silence4:5511You're the Same4:1512Love Is Not Lost3:47" (as Leslie Phillips)
1992: A Midnight Clear (soundtrack) – "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear"
1994: Prêt-à-Porter (Music From The Motion Picture) – "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'"
1994: Melrose Place: The Music – "Baby, I Can't Please You"
2002: Maranatha! Anthology: The Artists, 1971–2001 – "Bring Me Through" (Leslie Phillips)
2002: Our Little Corner of the World: Music from Gilmore Girls – "Tell Her What She Wants to Know"
2002: Hear Music Volume 7: Waking – "Is That Your Zebra?"
2003: Music from the NBC Television Series Crossing Jordan – "I Wanna Be Your Man"
2009: Crazy Heart - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack – "Reflecting Light"
2011: Kings & Queens (with Blackie and the Rodeo Kings) – "Love Lay Me Down"
2014: Live From High Fidelity: The Best Of The Podcast Performances – "Can't See Straight" (also on the LP: Rhett Miller covering her song "Broken Circle")
2015: Even More Super Hits of the Seventies – "(Last Night) I Didn't Get to Sleep at All"

As guest

1981: Stop the Dominoes by Mark Heard – backing vocals
1982: Victims of the Age by Mark Heard – backing vocals
1983: Side By Side by The Imperials – guest vocals on "Make My Heart Your Home"
1983; Equator by Randy Stonehill – backing vocals
1990: Dry Bones Dance by Mark Heard – backing vocals
1991: Nothing but a Burning Light by Bruce Cockburn – backing vocals on "Great Big Love"
1992: Life Is Messy by Rodney Crowell – backing vocals on "Let's Make Trouble"
1992: Satellite Sky by Mark Heard – backing vocals
1993: Christmas by Bruce Cockburn - arr. and backing vocals on "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear"
1996: Bringing Down the Horse by The Wallflowers – backing vocals on "Invisible City" and "Laughing Out Loud"
2015: Airless Midnight by Eszter Balint – backing vocals on "The Mother" and "Exit at 63"

Selected collaborations

2009: Raising Sand by Alison Krauss and Robert Plant – featured Phillips' song “Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us” which originally appeared on Don't Do Anything – the record won Grammy Award for Record of the Year
2018: She Remembers Everything by Rosanne Cash – co-wrote title track

Composer of television music

2000–2007: Gilmore Girls (153 episodes)
2012–2013: Bunheads (18 episodes)
2017–2019: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (19 episodes)

Selected filmography

1993: Ruby in Paradise – opening credits song, "Raised on Promises"
1995: Die Hard with a Vengeance – as Katya
1997: The End of Violence – as a singer
2006: Gilmore Girls – as a troubadour