Welcome back, hep cats and kittens, to The Leopard Lounge, where we have gathered a cornucopia of suave-defining tunes by the queen of after hours herself, the one and only Esther Phillips, guaranteed to sooth your souls and refresh your spirits.

A remarkable vocalist who could holler gritty R&B lyrics, bring soul to torchy ballads, add charm and wit to the standards of the American Songbook, and make a Beatles song almost her own, Esther Phillips was formidably versatile, equally at ease with jazz, soul, country, pop and rhythm and blues.  Famous for her bittersweet vocal sound and distinctive phrasing she was, in the words of Atlantic boss Ahmet Ertegun “one of the best singers he had ever heard”.

Born Esther Mae Washington, in Galveston, Texas, she was discovered at a talent show in 1949, aged 13, by vibraphonist and bandleader Johnny Otis.  She joined his revue, the Johnny Otis Rhythm And Blues Caravan, the same year.  Then billed as ‘Little Esther’, she scored her first hit ‘Double Crossin’ Blues’, when teamed up with vocal quartet the Robins (who later became the Coasters), along with a few other chart toppers like ‘Misery’, ‘Mistrustin’ Blues’, ‘Cupid Boogie’ and ‘Deceivin’ Blues’ for the Savoy imprint.  In 1951 she left the label – and Johnny Otis’ revue – for Federal, followed by Decca two years later, after a dispute over royalties.

By 1954, addicted to heroin and penniless, Esther had moved back to her father’s in Houston.  Still insecure from the traumas of her early years, she resumed working, her performances in small nightclubs often punctuated by hospital stays as a result of her drug habit. 

Spotted by singer Kenny Rogers while singing in a Houston nightclub, she was signed to his brother’s Nashville label Lenox in 1960.  Her country-soul take on ‘Release Me’ (a hit for Englebert Humperdinck), recorded the same year, brought her back into the public eye. 

Introduced by ‘Miss Rhythm’ Ruth Brown to Atlantic’s ‘Chairman Of The Board’ Ahmet Ertegun when Lenox folded, she joined the label in 1964.  No longer little, she had re-christened herself Esther Phillips, after the name of a nearby petrol station.  Teamed up with the cream of arrangers (Oliver Nelson, Ray Ellis, Jimmy Wisner), the studio sessions that followed showcase her flexibility, from rhythm and blues to jazz, show tunes, and pop covers, including the Beatles ‘And I Love Him’, which propelled her back to the top of the charts.  After a sequence of events that made Judy Garland’s childhood sound like a walk in the sun, Esther was back.

Her debut album for the label, 1964’s And I Love Him, includes her hit single of the same name.  Arranged by Ray Ellis, this gender-switched, string-laden remake of ‘And I Love Her’, earned her an R&B top 20, as well as recognition by the Fab Four themselves, who flew her to the UK for her first overseas performances, including appearances in the television shows Around The Beatles and Ready Steady Go.  The otherworldly ‘Shangri-La’, a gently swinging take on Jobim’s ‘Girl From Ipanema’, the sensitively-phrased ‘Out Of The Blue’, and reworkings of show tunes like Jule Styne’s ‘People’, showcase her multi-faceted talent, while she weaves her spell through Charles Trenet’s ‘I Wish You Love’, Edith Piaf’s ‘If You Love Me, Really Love Me’, and brings a refreshing twist to ‘Makin’ Whoopee’.

1966 saw the release of her smouldering take on ‘Fever’, along with the carefully crafted Esther Phillips Sings. One of the high points of her studio career, this LP boasts exquisite jazz arrangements by Ray Ellis (a fine producer, arranger and conductor who collaborated with some of the greatest stars of the 20th Century, from Billie Holiday to the Drifters, Johnny Mathis and Solomon Burke) on Cole Porter’s ‘It’s All Right With Me’, Johnny Mandel’s ‘The Shadow Of Your Smile’, Oliver Nelson (a very talented saxophonist and arranger for the likes of Jimmy Smith, Betty Carter and Thelonious Monk) on ‘Let There Be Love’, ‘A Taste Of Honey’, and ‘The Party’s Over’, and Jimmy Wisner’s neat reworking of Mick Jagger’s ‘As Tears Go By’.

In spite of Atlantic’s attempts at trying out Esther Phillips in many different settings, none of her singles or albums really caught on, and she was dropped by the label in late 1967.  With her addition worsening, she checked into a rehab facility, and recorded a few sides for Roulette during her convalescence.  Upon her release in 1969, she moved to Los Angeles and re-joined Atlantic for Burnin’.  Recorded live at L.A.’s Freddie Jett’s Pied Piper Club, arranged by legendary R&B hornman King Curtis, along fine musicians like guitarist Cornell Dupree, pianist Jack Wilson and bassist Chuck Rainey on songs like Percy Mayfield’s ‘Please Send Me Someone To Love’, and Sammy Cahn’s ‘If It’s The Last Thing I Do’, this album is considered by many to be one of her best and most cohesive works.  Its follow-up, Confessin’ The Blues, had a studio side with a big band, and a live side recorded, like Burnin’, at the Pied Piper, with the same rhythm section and King Curtis in the producer’s chair, from which this majestic version of ‘Bye Bye Blackbird’ is taken.

MINNIE ‘MINX’ MEHARI
Houston, New York, Los Angeles, 2006

Series Coordinator: Florence Halfon
Compiled by Florence Halfon
Liner notes by Minnie ‘Minx’ Mehari
Artwork by Etienne Gilfillan
Cover photo: Michael Ochs Archives / Redferns Music Picture Library.
Mastered by Giovanni Scatola

This compilation (P) & (C) 2006 Warner Music UK Ltd.
Made in the EU.
Unauthorised copying, hiring, public performance and broadcast of this recording is prohibited.