Phyllis Hyman
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Phyllis Hyman (July 6, 1949 - June 30, 1995) was a soul singer, model and actress.
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Biography
Early years
Even though she was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (to an Italian American mother and African American father), Hyman grew up in the St. Clair Village section in Pittsburgh. After leaving Pittsburgh, her music training started with a scholarship to a music school. On graduation, she performed on a national tour with the group New Direction in 1971. After the group disbanded, she joined All the People and worked with another local group, The Hondo Beat. At this time, she appeared in the film Lenny (1974). She also did a two-year stint leading a band called Phyllis Hyman and the P/H Factor. Hyman was discovered in 1975 by internationally known pop artist and music industry veteran Sid Maurer, and former Epic Records promoter Fred Frank, and signed to their Roadshow Records/Desert Moon imprint.
Hyman moved to New York City to work on her reputation. She did background vocals on Jon Lucien's Premonition and worked in clubs. It was during one of these performances that she was spotted by Norman Connors, who offered her a spot as a vocalist on his album, You Are My Starship (1976). The duo scored on the R&B charts with a remake of The Stylistics' "Betcha by Golly Wow!".
Popular success
Hyman sang with Pharoah Sanders and the Fatback Band while working on her first solo album, Phyllis Hyman, released in 1977 on the Buddha label. When Arista Records bought Buddah, she was transferred to that label. Her first album for Arista, Somewhere in My Lifetime was released in 1979; the title track was produced by then-labelmate Barry Manilow. Her follow up album You Know How to Love Me, made the R&B Top 20 and also performed well on the club/dance charts. In the late 70's, Hyman married her manager Larry Alexander (who is the brother of Jamaican pianist and melodica player Monty Alexander), but both the personal and professional associations ended in divorce.
Hyman's first solo Top Ten hit came in 1981 with "Can't We Fall In Love Again", a duet with Michael Henderson. The song was recorded while she was performing in the Broadway musical Sophisticated Ladies, a tribute to Duke Ellington. She performed in the role for almost two years, receiving a Tony Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical and winning a Theatre World Award for Best Newcomer.
Problems between Hyman and her label, Arista, caused a pause in her recording career. She used the time to appear on movie soundtracks, television commercials and guest vocals, working with Chuck Mangione, The Whispers and The Four Tops. She toured often and did a college lecture tour.
In 1983, Hyman recorded the song "Never Say Never Again" as the title song for the James Bond movie of the same name, written by Stephen Forsyth and Jim Ryan. However, Warner Brothers informed Forsyth that Michel Legrand, who wrote the score for the film had threatened to sue them, claiming he contractually had the rights to the title song.
Free from Arista in 1985, she released the album Living All Alone, and capitalized on the torch songs "Old Friend" and the melancholy title track, as well as "You Just Don't Know" and "Screaming at the Moon" in 1986. Shortly after she appeared in the films School Daze and The Kill Reflex. She would also continue to lend her voice on albums for other artist and musicians like Grover Washington, Jr. and Lonnie Liston Smith, while at the same time doing international tours. Her next album, Prime of My Life, released in 1991, was the biggest of her career and included her first number one R&B hit along with being her first Billboard Top 100 Hit "Don't Wanna Change the World", the album gained three more top ten singles "Living in Confusion", "When You Get Right Down to It", and the hit "I Found Love". Just over a year later she appeared one last time on a Norman Connors album, singing the title song "Remember Who You Are", which became a minor R&B hit. Prime of My Life eventually sold 454,000 copies to date.
Hyman's last album, I Refuse to Be Lonely, was a journey into her personal life. Both the title track and the single "I'm Truly Yours" became minor R&B hits. She struggled with bipolar disorder, depression, alcoholism, weight gain and financial problems. She was also emotionally exhausted from lending her talents to AIDS benefits concerts and support groups. Adding to her depression, in 1993 her mother, grandmother and a close friend all died within the span of a month.
Death
On the afternoon of June 30, 1995, Hyman committed suicide by overdosing on pentobarbital and secobarbital in her New York City apartment. She was found hours before she was scheduled to perform at the Apollo Theatre.
Her suicide note read in part:
"I'm tired. I'm tired. Those of you that I love know who you are. May God bless you."
A memorial service was held at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in New York City on what would have been her 46th birthday.
Posthumous works
In November 1995, Hyman's posthumous album I Refuse To Be Lonely, was released. Although the project had an overdrawn gestation, to combat the delay in its commercial release, Hyman started performing the tracks, "This Too Shall Pass" and "I Refuse To Be Lonely" in concert. The delay in the album's release adversely affected Hyman both emotionally & financially and the delay was said to be cited over "cost negotiations."
Three years after her death, a second posthumous album of previously unreleased material was released. Songs were culled from various recording sessions from the mid 1980s into the early 1990s. Forever With You (1998) contains smooth love songs, torch songs, bittersweet ballads, smooth jazz offerings and uptempo tracks, most of which showcase Phyllis' usual interpretation of heartbreak and strife. Phyllis was quoted as saying that these songs were about "relationships gone bad!" Much of the material on this album was initially intended for her Living All Alone release. The song "Funny How Love Goes" contains a posthumous "duet" featuring vocalist Damon Williams. Half of Hyman's vocals were re-recorded with both singers alternating vocals and providing Williams with exposure.
In December 2003, Expansion Records, in association with The Other Artists' Entertainment (Canada), released the compilation album entitled In Between The Heartaches: The Soul of a Diva. This album contains further previously unreleased demo recordings from the 1980s. Included are the McCoy Tyner tracks which remain Hyman's most critically acclaimed recordings. Many anecdotes outlining his personal relationship with Hyman, along with rare and insightful information about the songs is included by Michael Grimaldi, a personal and professional friend of Hyman.
In September 2007, an authorized biography was released on the late singer's life. The book entitled Strength of a Woman: the Phyllis Hyman Story, is written by Jason A. Michael in cooperation with the Estate of Phyllis Hyman. The book mentions Hyman's relationships with both men and women.<ref name="armstrong">Template:Citation</ref>
In 2008, an original version of the James Bond theme "Never Say Never Again," that wasn't used in the film due to contractual issues, was released by the track's co-writer Stephen Forsythe. Stephen Forsythe has been quoted as stating:
During the filming of the James Bond movie Never Say Never Again, I co-wrote the title song for the movie with Jim Ryan. Warner Brothers informed our attorney that the song was to be used as the title song in the picture. However, shortly before its release, Warner Bros informed us that the song could not be used because Michel Legrand, who wrote the score, threatened to sue them, claiming that contractually he had the right to the title song. So my song was never released. The legendary Phyllis Hyman was my first choice to sing the song and working with her is one of the highlights of my musical career. I personally auditioned and sang the song to her while she was having breakfast in her manager’s office. After agreeing to sing the song, she arrived at the studio and, without any rehearsal and only having heard the song sung once at the breakfast audition, sang the song in one perfect take. Phyllis sadly took her own life in the early nineties. The year before she died, she called me late one night and told me she felt that "Never Say Never Again" was her best and favorite recording.<ref>{{||Error on call to Template:cite web: Parameters url and title must be specified }}{{
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Discography
Albums
- 1977: Phyllis Hyman (Buddah) - US #107
- 1979: Sing a Song (Buddah)
- 1979: Somewhere in My Lifetime (Arista) - US #70 R&B #15
- 1979: You Know How to Love Me (Arista) - US #50, R&B #10
- 1981: Can't We Fall in Love Again? (Arista) - US #57, R&B #11
- 1983: Goddess of Love (Arista) - US #112, R&B #20
- 1986: Living All Alone (Philadelphia International) - US #78, R&B #11
- 1989: Under Her Spell: Phyllis Hyman's Greatest Hits (Arista)
- 1991: Prime of My Life (Philadelphia International) - US #117, R&B #10
- 1995: I Refuse to Be Lonely (Philadelphia International) - US #67, R&B #12
- 1996: Loving You, Losing You: The Classic Balladry of Phyllis Hyman (Kama Sutra) - R&B #47
- 1996: The Legacy of Phyllis Hyman (Arista) - R&B #78
- 1998: Forever with You (Philadelphia International) - R&B #66
- 1998: Phyllis Hyman: Remembered (Roadshow Records)
- 1998: One on One (Hip-O)
- 1999: Phylladelphia: The Gamble-Huff Years (WestSide)
- 2003: In Between The Heartaches: The Soul Of A Diva (Expansion)
- 2004: Ultimate Phyllis Hyman (BMG Heritage)
Singles
- 1976: "Baby (I'm Gonna Love You)" - R&B #76
- 1976: "Do Me"
- 1976: "Betcha By Golly Wow" - R&B #29
- 1977: "Loving You - Losing You" - R&B #32
- 1977: "No One Can Love You More" - R&B #58
- 1978: "Living Inside Your Love"
- 1978: "As You Are" (with Pharoah Sanders)
- 1979: "Somewhere In My Lifetime" - R&B #12
- 1979: "You Know How To Love Me" - R&B #12
- 1980: "Under Your Spell" - R&B #37
- 1981: "Can't We Fall In Love Again" (with Michael Henderson) - R&B #9
- 1981: "Tonight You And Me" - R&B #22
- 1982: "You Sure Look Good To Me" - R&B #76
- 1982: "Love Surrounds Us Everywhere" (with McCoy Tyner)
- 1983: "Riding The Tiger" - R&B #30
- 1983: "Why Did You Turn Me On" - R&B #74
- 1986: "Living All Alone" - R&B #12
- 1986: "Old Friend" - R&B #14
- 1987: "Ain't You Had Enough Love" - R&B #29
- 1990: "Obsession" - R&B #79
- 1991: "Don't Wanna Change the World" - R&B #1 Pop #68
- 1991: "Living In Confusion" - R&B #9
- 1992: "I Found Love" - R&B #70
- 1992: "When You Get Right Down To It" - R&B #10
- 1993: "Remember Who You Are"
- 1995: "I Refuse To Be Lonely" - R&B #59
- 1996: "I'm Truly Yours" - R&B #94
- 1996: "It's Not About You (It's About Me)"
- 1998: "Funny How Love Goes" - R&B #75
- 1998: "Tell Me What You're Gonna Do" - R&B #78
- 2004: "Can't Live Without You"
- 2008: "Never Say Never Again" (released on the 4 track CD Single One More Night, by Stephen Forsyth)
Filmography
- Lenny (1974)
- Too Scared to Scream (1985)
- School Daze (1988)
- The Kill Reflex (1989)
