I'm listening to the 2-CD set 'The Legacy Of Phyllis Hyman' and I'm thinking "what a wonderful voice this lady had!".She was truly one of the greatest female voices in R&B,and I really miss her.She was the epitome of sophistication.My favorite songs by her...


"Be Careful (How You Treat My Love)" (1978)
"No One Can Love You More" (1977)
"Loving You,Losing You" (1977)
"You Know How To Love Me" (1979)
"Under Your Spell" (1979)
"Can't We Fall In Love Again" (with Michael Henderson)(1981)
"Falling Star" (1983)
"Old Friend" (1986)
"Living All Alone" (1986)
"When I Give My Love (This Time)" (1991)
"Living In Confusion" (1991)
"I Refuse To Be Lonely" (1995)
"I'm Calling You" (1995)


What are your memories of this underrated diva? Favorite songs?

Man, Phyllis had an amazing voice, u can actually feel her pain when she sang,i truly believe her last album before she comitted suicide was a cry for help.

My goodness. Phyllis Hyman is my personal diva. What a voice. What a woman. Beautiful. Statuesque. Talented. I could go on and on about my feelings for Phyllis. Her music moves me and calms my soul. I admit that I cried like a child when I heard of her passing. When I hear "Meet Me on the Moon" and she holds that note at the end, I get chills going down my spine. She was by far so superbly talented that the industry didn't know what to make of her. I realized that she was tired at the end, but I wonder what would have happened had she just hung in a little while longer. I don't think she had yet to reach her full potential as a vocalist.

I am so glad that her legacy will continue to be preserved. Thank God he beat goes on.

gooch said:

I loved Phyllis. Thanks to my mom, I got into her at an early age. I met her in a Philly wrecka stow once. She was grand and statuesque and I was speechless. She wasn't in her best mood but still gave me an autograph. Her death really hurt me so I attended her memorial in NY which was just a big wailfest. Even now it's still hard for me to listen to her music.


Answer Is You***
When You Get Right Down To It
Meet Me On The Moon
You Know How To Love Me
Can't We Fall In Love***
Somewhere In My Lifetime
Old Friend***
Living All Alone
Be Careful How You Treat My Love***
Living Inside Your Love***

DavidEye said:

Only in the past few yrs, did I discover Ms Hyman. She was a trailblazer in her own rite. Fusing jazz, blues, soul and rnb.

Definetly under-rated.

Her tragic demise will always be a great loss.

She is an artist whom lived the songs she song and that is why she is all the more relevant and phenomenal.

An amazing voice....

Her 1976 version of "Betcha By Golly Wow" is heavenly

In fact,I like it more than the Stylistics original


Prince's remake ain't got nothin' on Hyman's version

DavidEye said:

she definitely did it justice.



prince's remake ain't got nothin on either version...his was crap!

I love Miss Hyman,,she was/is my "vocal" Idol..I wish I sounded like her...it sucks that so many people don't even know who she is.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

lol,so true

All of you took the words right out of my mouth. IMO, she was one of the best R&B singers of all time. Phyllis, you left us too soon.

I've liked Phyllis Hyman since I was 17. I also knew her road manager here in Philadelphia.
Her last album was truly a cry for help. The pain was clear in those lyrics. I can't even listen to it because it makes me cry, especially "I Can't Stand This Living All Alone."

My ex introduced her music to me. Sad the way she left us.

"You know how to love me" is a CLASSIC!

DavidEye said:

She was definitely a brillant Jazz and Broadway vocalist. I understand that she would a Emmy for a performance in play she did in the early 80's called Sophicated Ladies. Also, she was a fashion model.

When I got word of her suicide, it really hit home with me b/c she was very influential to me as a vocalist. I really admired her voice. Her style is very unique and there probably be no one to come close to what she brought to the industry.
R. I. P. Phyllis Hymen
[Edited 4/9/05 9:37am]

1sexymf said:

Sometimes, the lyrics to that song rings all to true for her. The type of songs that chose to sing where like bittersweet soundtracks to her life. The whole thing is pretty tragic when you think about it.

Great voice. Too bad she had so many personal demons.

Nick715 said:

If you like that song,be sure to get the remastered CD.It includes some interesting liner notes.Surprisingly,Phyllis wasn't too impressed with that album! But it became her biggest-selling album.

I loved Phyllis Hyman as well. The song "Old Friend" always makes me cry, love that tune!


A million times or more I thought about you
The years, the tears, the laughter, things we used to do
Are memories that warm me like a sunny day
You touched my life in such a special way

I miss the way you’d run your fingers through my hair
Those crazy nights we cuddled in your easy chair
Oh, no, I won’t let foolish pride turn you away
I’ll take you back whatever price I pay

Old friend
It’s so nice to feel you hold me again
No, it doesn’t matter where you have been
My heart welcomes you back home again

Remember those romantic walks we used to take
You held my hand in such a way my knees would shake
You can’t imagine just how much I’ve needed you
I’ve never loved someone as I love you

Old friend
It’s so nice to feel you hold me again
No, it doesn’t matter where you have been
My heart welcomes you back

Old friend
This is where our happy ending begins
Yes, I’m sure this time that we’re gonna win
Welcome back into my life again

Yes, I’ve tried to live my life without you
Knowing I had lost my closest friend
Though I've been alone from time to time
Knowing I will never find the kind of love I had when you were mine

Old friend
It’s so nice to feel you hold me again
No, it doesn’t matter where you have been
My heart welcomes you back

Old friend
This is where our happy ending begins
Yes, I’m sure this time that we’re gonna win
Welcome back into my life again

Welcome back into my life again
Welcome back into my life again

RIP Phyllis, you are missed.
[Edited 4/13/05 17:17pm]

I used to like her too when I was young. I remember listening to her music on my trip to Florida when I was 7. I especially liked her tracks, "Under Your Spell" and "Sure Look Good To Me" ( I think that's the title.)

She also made a very nice appearance in Spike Lee's "School Daze". Remember that?

Yes, it is a tragedy equivalent to that of Ian Curtis and Michael Hutchence that we had to lose her so soon.

NWF said:

psychodelicide said:

If I play this song and Living All Alone, you can't help but get goose bumps. Sometimes, you can't help but get when your hear these songs. RIP Phyllis, you're loved and missed.
[Edited 4/13/05 20:41pm]

psychodelicide said:

That song is just heavenly,isn't it? The lyrics,the chorus and Phyllis' lovely vocal.....I get chills when I hear that song.

Hotlegs said:

As stated on this thread earlier, you can just hear the pain in Phyllis' voice when you hear her singing "All Alone". It's ashame she ended her own life.

DavidEye said:

Phyllis really had a lot of talent, that's for sure.

Hi all,

I admit that I didnt pay Phyllis much attention until I met her three weeks before she passed. She came to my friend Delilah's BBQ restaurant at 30Th St Station in Philly, and was ordering.

Vince kept saying that she was Phyllis Hyman, but she did not look like the promo picture. The interesting part was that he went over to her and asked her to sing and she just started. Next thing you know she just started and by the time she was finished , she had a crowd of people and the mini concert began! !

The Train police broke it up and I knew who she was by the time she was done!

She gave me her autograph on a napkin, and that and my story are all that I have left of the memory of meeting her.

She was very beautiful for that


I miss that lady.....

Mutts

muttley said:

I've always heard that she was a really nice lady,who always made time to chat with fans and sign autographs.

BlaqueKnight said:

It's Timeless

Just found this on the internet:


PHYLLIS HYMAN

The history of modern soul music is unfortunately littered with stories of truly magnificent artists who spent much of their adult lives fighting personal demons while creating seminal music. Phyllis Hyman is, sadly, one of those stories. The Philadelphia native was a popular jazz club singer in New York when hot producer Norman Connors witnessed her show and pegged her to perform a cover of the Stylistics' "Betcha By Golly Wow" on his You Are My Starship album. Her emotive, jazzy stylings melded perfectly with Connors' production, and her stunning performance resulted in her being signed by Buddah Records for a 1977 self-titled solo debut.

Her first album was a moderate success, and included a very nice cover of the Spinners' "I Don't Want To Lose You." The next year Buddah merged into Arista Records and Hyman embarked on a series of albums that scored well in the emerging urban adult contemporary format, but with little crossover success. The material provided to her during this period was somewhat uneven, but on each album she demonstrated that she was developing into one of the finest soul vocalists in the world. And while she was not a "singles" artist, she recorded her share of memorable radio cuts, including "You Know How to Love Me," "Riding the Tiger," "Can't We Fall In Love Again" (with Michael Henderson), and the dramatic "Somewhere In My Lifetime" (produced by, of all people, Arista stablemate Barry Manilow). She also emerged as a fine concert performer, and became a headliner in multi-artist soul shows around the world.

Mutual dissatisfaction between Hyman and Arista led to her contract not being renewed in 1982. She instead spent her time guesting on other artists' albums and performing on stage. It would be four years before she would record again, going back home and signing with Gamble & Huff's Philadelphia International Records, a label known for the kind of lush production and strong material that appeared perfect for Hyman. The match worked beautifully out of the box. She scored immediately with her greatest album, 1987's Living All Alone, a wonderful collaboration with both Gamble & Huff and the great Thom Bell. The first single from that album was "Old Friend," a Thom Bell/Linda Creed piano ballad that was perhaps the year's most beautiful soul recording, and a cut that fit Hyman like a glove. It is truly an essential track for any soul ballad lover. The album's other highlight was the moody title song, a haunting Gamble & Huff masterpiece. Hyman then disappeared again from the radio, as PIR changed distribution agreements, resulting in a four year wait before the release of her Nick Martinelli-produced Prime of My Life and her biggest hit, "Don't Wanna Change the World."

Unfortunately as she reached age 40, while she was approaching her creative peak, Hyman was increasingly facing personal problems. Alcohol dependency, weight gain and the fear of losing her fashion model-like beauty haunted her, leading to more erratic behavior. Ultimately, her personal demons overcame her, and she committed suicide before a show in 1995, shocking her legions of fans. Later that year, a posthumous album, I Refuse To Be Lonely, her final work, clearly showed lyrically, the problems she was facing in her final days, though at times displaying a hope that she could escape them. Another posthumous album of unreleased PIR cuts, Forever For You, was released in 1998.

As with many great artists, Hyman has become more appreciated posthumously. Though her popularity during her life was generally limited to soul and smooth jazz audiences, her influence on songstresses from Anita Baker to Tamia is evident, and her music has aged wonderfully, much of it sounding as engaging now as it did 20 years ago.


I remember Norman Connors' song "You are My Starship" from back in the '70's, I like that song. Never knew that he and Phyllis had worked together.