{"title":"Esther Phillips","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEsther Phillips was an American soul and rhythm \u0026amp; blues singer. Born on December 23, 1935 in Galveston, Texas, she became a prominent figure in the music industry. At just fourteen years old, Esther won an amateur talent contest at the Barrelhouse Club owned by Johnny Otis. Impressed by her talent, Otis added her to his traveling revue and billed her as 'Little Esther'. She achieved great success with hits like \"Double Crossing Blues\" and \"Mistrusting Blues\". However, she faced challenges due to drug addiction.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1962, after overcoming her struggles with drugs, Esther made a comeback under the name Esther Phillips. Her country tune \"Release Me\" topped the R\u0026amp;B charts and reached number eight on the pop listings. She later signed with Atlantic Records and gained recognition for her cover of The Beatles' song \"And I Love Him\". In the 1970s, she ventured into disco music and achieved international success with \"What A Difference A Day Made\", a modern take on a jazz standard from the 1930s.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTragically, Esther Phillips passed away at UCLA Medical Center in Carson, California in 1984 at the age of 48 due to liver and kidney failure. Her contributions to soul and rhythm \u0026amp; blues continue to inspire artists today.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"brand-new-day-the-lenox-atlantic-and-roulette-recordings-1962-1970","title":"Brand New Day - The Lenox \/ Atlantic and Roulette Recordings (1962 - 1970)","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe late \u003cstrong\u003eEsther Phillips\u003c\/strong\u003e (1935-1984) has often been considered one of the ‘unsung’ pioneers in the world of R\u0026amp;B, stretching back to the early ‘50s when as a child star working with famed bandleader Johnny Otis, she enjoyed a run of chart-topping singles at the age of 15, making her the youngest female artist to ever have a No. 1 R\u0026amp;B hit at the time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Texas-born vocalist returned in 1962 with a soulful version of the country hit, \u003cem\u003eRelease Me\u003c\/em\u003e for Lenox Records, subsequently signing with Atlantic Records for whom she recorded a total of four full albums between 1964-1970 with a brief spell at Roulette Records in 1969.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eProduced by SoulMusic Records founder David Nathan (who first met Esther in 1965), \u003cem\u003eBrand New Day – The Lenox \/ Atlantic and Roulette Recordings\u003c\/em\u003e is a sumptuous first-of-its-kind 5-CD box set, consisting of 102 tracks of Esther’s work in a variety of different musical settings, sequenced by session and containing a number of previously unreleased cuts as well as non-album singles making their CD debut.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAn 8,000-word informative and extensive essay by renowned UK writer Charles Waring, alongside superb mastering by Nick Robbins and first-class artwork by Roger Williams make this box set an overdue celebration of Esther Phillips’ glorious artistry, in particular as a commemoration of her passing in August, 1984 at the age of 48.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDisc 1:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cem\u003eAm I That Easy To Forget\u003c\/em\u003e covers Esther’s recordings for Lenox Records including her 1962 hit version of \u003cem\u003eRelease Me\u003c\/em\u003e, her sole LP for the label (reissued by Atlantic in 1966 as \u003cem\u003eThe Country Side Of Esther Phillips\u003c\/em\u003e) plus nine non-album tracks including two duets with ‘Big Al’ Downing, most making their digital debut alongside Esther’s first recordings for Atlantic.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDisc 2:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cem\u003eJust Say Goodbye\u003c\/em\u003e (titled after the popular UK Northern soul track) includes Esther’s first two albums for Atlantic, 1965’s \u003cem\u003eAnd I Love Him!\u003c\/em\u003e, the title track of which yielded her US hit cover of the Lennon and McCartney song and the 1966 LP \u003cem\u003eEsther Phillips Sings\u003c\/em\u003e, with big band arrangements by Oliver Nelson, Ray Ellis, and Jimmy Wisner.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDisc 3:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cem\u003eToo Late To Worry, Too Blue To Cry\u003c\/em\u003e features Atlantic recordings cut between 1966-1967, primarily singles’ sessions with a previously unreleased track (\u003cem\u003eWatch Dog\u003c\/em\u003e) from Esther’s only session in Memphis and eight 1966 Nesuhi Ertegun-helmed, Onzy Matthews-arranged tracks including the previously unreleased \u003cem\u003eRocks In My Bed\u003c\/em\u003e; as well as the six tracks from Esther’s 1969 sessions for Roulette Records.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDisc 4:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cem\u003eI’m Gettin’ ‘Long Alright\u003c\/em\u003e is the first-ever release of all the tracks from Esther’s best-selling Atlantic album \u003cem\u003eBurnin’\u003c\/em\u003e produced by King Curtis, recorded live in January 1970 at Freddie Jett’s Pied Piper club, with two previously unissued cuts, \u003cem\u003eJust In Time\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eFancy\u003c\/em\u003e and two outtakes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDisc 5:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cem\u003eCatch Me I’m Falling\u003c\/em\u003e (a UK Northern soul favorite track) completes Esther’s Atlantic legacy with four cuts from the ‘live’ 1970 sessions including the previously unissued \u003cem\u003eFeel Like I Want To Cry\u003c\/em\u003e and two outtakes without studio overdubs; and the eleven tracks from her 1970 Miami sessions originally planned as an entire LP, only issued in 1986 as part of a posthumous retrospective entitled \u003cem\u003eSet Me Free\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Soul Music","offers":[{"title":"CD | x5","offer_id":50447545106763,"sku":"1096063","price":21.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/7a30256d-4064-4438-9435-359223509f97_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727079404"},{"product_id":"from-a-whisper-to-a-scream","title":"From a Whisper to a Scream","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe one-time \u003cem\u003eLittle Esther\u003c\/em\u003e, a.k.a. Esther Mae Jones, a.k.a. \u003cstrong\u003eEsther Phillips\u003c\/strong\u003e, came to CTI Records' Kudu imprint in 1971 as a veteran artist. Though she was just shy of 36 years old, she already had 22 years of her career behind her.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf Atlantic Records was unsure of the best setting in which to place Phillips' distinctive voice, Kudu's Creed Taylor had the formula from Day One. Taylor surrounded the vocalist with the best of his crossover-jazz roster on fresh, funky and contemporary songs, embracing soul, jazz, pop, and later, disco.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe result was \u003cem\u003eFrom a Whisper to a Scream\u003c\/em\u003e, the subject of a new, expanded Soul Music reissue. \u003cem\u003eFrom a Whisper to a Scream\u003c\/em\u003e was named after the Allen Toussaint composition. Esther's future musical director Pee Wee Ellis and Jack Wilson traded off arrangement duties on the album's songs, with CTI \"house arranger\" Don Sebesky sweetening some tracks with his trademark strings.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRichard Tee, Bernard Purdie, Eric Gale, Hank Crawford, and Airto Moreira all added their instrumental prowess. The album's nine tracks included another cut from the New Orleans piano man, 'Sweet Touch of Love,' as well as songs from Eddie Floyd ('That's All Right with Me,' 'Til My Back Ain't Got No Bone'), Marvin Gaye ('Baby I'm for Real'), Big Dee Irwin ('Your Love is So Doggone Good'), and Gil Scott-Heron (the wrenching 'Home is Where the Hatred Is,' on which Esther laid her soul and her own personal demons bare).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eWhisper\u003c\/em\u003e garnered a great deal of attention when Aretha Franklin won a Grammy for her \u003cem\u003eYoung, Gifted and Black\u003c\/em\u003e LP and turned it over to fellow nominee Phillips: \"I liked Esther's record...I felt she could use encouragement,\" the generous Queen commented.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Soul Music","offers":[{"title":"Black | LP","offer_id":50480358785355,"sku":"1161666","price":36.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50480358457675,"sku":"405592","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/5727cfc7-bb6e-466e-bc36-0968712e61ae_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727519095"},{"product_id":"memory-lane-the-best-songs-little-esther-ever-recorded","title":"Memory Lane - The Best Songs Little Esther Ever Recorded","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe best of Little Esther (Esther Phillips)\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"International Marketing Group","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":53713641242955,"sku":"epLEcd1","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/195749.jpg?v=1761241625"},{"product_id":"performance-cti-records-40th-anniversay-edition","title":"Performance: Cti Records 40th Anniversay Edition","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJazz fests and top venues everywhere were after Esther during her '70 rebirth on the Kudu label. Bob James, Bernard Purdie and Steve Gadd are among those backing her on this 1974 LP; the bonus Mr. Bojangles joins I Feel the Same; Such a Night; Living Alone; Disposable Society; Doing Our Thing, and more!\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Naxos of America","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":53713756422475,"sku":"epPcd1","price":13.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/4316526-3145255.jpg?v=1761242065"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/collections\/test_198a9727_thumbnail_4096_65feb264-3e38-4c19-b25c-27eb408b7b39.jpg?v=1727079382","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/collections\/esther-phillips.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}