Phyllis NEVER disappoints! Fun tid bit. My very dear friend Cassandra McShepard was Ms. Hyman's personal designer and stylist for 15 years (until Phyllis' untimely death) and so not only did she design (and sew with her own hands) that fierce gown on the cover, but she also did her makeup and hair.
This appears on Norman Connors' album You Are My Starship and introduced Phyllis to the world. Her debut album shirtly followed. The beautiful feminine touch she brings to the interpretation is insane and lays me out every time.
That Norman Connors instrumental intro sets the stage for the beautiful Miss Phyllis Hyman. I love when the expression on your face acknowledges superior vocal talent, Empress. I watched the Unsung Phyllis Hyman episode. It was Norman Connors that convinced her to sing this song. And in doing so introduced her to the world of eternal Phyllis Hyman fans.
So great to see a reaction to Phyllis, her vocals were always extraordinary, her voice immediately recognizable for its expressiveness, and she is missed. Nice to see you listening to Phyllis, you have great taste.
***LADY PHYLLIS HYMAN TRIVIA TIME!!*** ....Golly, what a Sophisticated Lady..... (3:37) .... - ...I mentioned this tune briefly in Empresses' "You Know How To Love Me" post on Phyllis, but I'll give it here...Phyllis was singing in Jazz Clubs (& singing commercial jingles) and was garnering some notice; She was then asked to sing on Jazz drummer *NORMAN CONNORS* 1976 Album, "You Are My Starship"....Phyllis & Norman chose this cover, to do...... - ....Phyllis BLEW UP! ....Norman's Album became One of the first "Smooth Jazz" Albums, making way for Grover Washington Jr, Kenny G., Anita Baker, etc.; Phyllis wound up getting an Album deal, and releasing her 1977 self-titled Album, getting great respect from the Jazz community.... - ...then, came Clive..... Buddah Records (Phyllis' label) closed, and she was moved over to Arista Records in 1978; Clive wanted a "DIVA" to break BIG w/ Pop audiences, so he gave Phyllis Pop & Disco tunes to sing....which, Phyllis HATED! - ..Then Phyllis had her biggest hit w/ 1979's "You Know How...", a Pop-Disco tune, when she still wanted to do Jazz... She went to do "Sophisticated Ladies", and became One of the first R&B Singers to go "Broadway", instead of the other way around.... She & Clive butted heads, until she was dropped from Arista in 1983.....then, she took her Life in 1995...... (7:33) ...
Hmmm…. Starting to think Clive was a bit of a Svengali… And the timeline of him signing Whitney in 1983 and Arista dropping Phyllis the same year seems way too coincidental… like Clive found someone younger he could manipulate and control the trajectory of their “pop” career.
I'm so happy to see this, Empress. Phyllis recorded this 1977 but The Stylistics originally recorded it in 1972. I remember getting one of Phyllis's posthumous albums for Christmas in 2004. The title of the compilation is fittingly "Ultimate Phyllis Hyman" and as I'm looking at the tracklist, "Betcha By Golly, Wow" is the first song on the album. From that point on, I was absolutely hooked on her music. Looking forward to seeing your next video.
I grew up in a household that loved Phyllis Hyman. My family lived (partly) in the Caribbean. At that time, going to the record store and buying an album was not an option. We had to wait for American music to come on one of our 2 radio stations (3 if you count the “oldies” station ) or for a video to be played on the American weekend video countdown show on our single TV station. When Phyllis’ music would play, it was like a religious experience. People would stop what they’re doing to be captivated by her beautiful, gut wrenching soul singing. I recently saw a video of Brandy and Mariah Carey in the studio together. Mariah kept telling Brandy to sing the Mariah song she was singing in her own voice-not like Mariah. This reaction made me think of that. While artists like Prince remade this song similar to the Stylistics’ version, Phyllis would never sing like anyone else. She took the Stylistics’ song and gave us Phyllis’ version. She didn’t try to imitate, she gave us Phyllis through and through. This is what I loved most about Phyllis-she was original in every sense of the word. Phyllis had some great remakes-or rePhyllisized songs. Her take on “I got it bad” and “here’s that rainy day” got some well deserved acclaim. However, my favorite Phyllis remake of all is her version of “ What you won’t do for love.” Every time I play it at gatherings, people would ask who is singing. It’s become like a conversation starter. I love Bobby Caldwell’s version. But as with all of Phyllis’ music, her version of this song just speaks directly to my soul. Here’s something I only recently learned: The Stylistic’s version was actually a remake of Connie Stevens’ song called “keep growing strong.” 😮It’s a great version as well.
My favorite female singer doing an awesome cover of the Stylistic's original. You need to do her songs "Living All Alone" and "I Refuse to be Lonely"
Phyllis NEVER disappoints! Fun tid bit. My very dear friend Cassandra McShepard was Ms. Hyman's personal designer and stylist for 15 years (until Phyllis' untimely death) and so not only did she design (and sew with her own hands) that fierce gown on the cover, but she also did her makeup and hair.
OMG! Shoutout to your friend!!! I'm in love with her work, so fierce. She slayed!
Produced by the LEGENDARY Iconic Mr Norman Conners ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
HYMAN ARTIST OVER LOOKED GURL CAN SING 💯
The LEGENDARY Iconic Ms Phyllis Hyman ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
This appears on Norman Connors' album You Are My Starship and introduced Phyllis to the world. Her debut album shirtly followed. The beautiful feminine touch she brings to the interpretation is insane and lays me out every time.
Sweet Philly Soul ❤❤❤
Fire!
That Norman Connors instrumental intro sets the stage for the beautiful Miss Phyllis Hyman.
I love when the expression on your face acknowledges superior vocal talent, Empress.
I watched the Unsung Phyllis Hyman episode. It was Norman Connors that convinced her to sing this song. And in doing so introduced her to the world of eternal Phyllis Hyman fans.
Beautiful!
Prince did this song also. It's nice
Did you hear Prince's version of this song?
wait what! prince has a version of this song?!?
@@EmpressReacts yeah he did his version around 1996
So great to see a reaction to Phyllis, her vocals were always extraordinary, her voice immediately recognizable for its expressiveness, and she is missed. Nice to see you listening to Phyllis, you have great taste.
The original was by The Stylistics from Philly. This stunned me -- better than I thought it was going to be! Enjoyed it. Thanks Empress!
Ah, first time hearing like me. I love that!
🤣Old school grandma & grandpa dancing💯🤣. Phyllis has a very distinct vocal style, her smokey vocals and jazzy phrasing are💯.
yaaaaas💯
***LADY PHYLLIS HYMAN TRIVIA TIME!!*** ....Golly, what a Sophisticated Lady..... (3:37) ....
- ...I mentioned this tune briefly in Empresses' "You Know How To Love Me" post on Phyllis, but I'll give it here...Phyllis was singing in Jazz Clubs (& singing commercial jingles) and was garnering some notice; She was then asked to sing on Jazz drummer *NORMAN CONNORS* 1976 Album, "You Are My Starship"....Phyllis & Norman chose this cover, to do......
- ....Phyllis BLEW UP! ....Norman's Album became One of the first "Smooth Jazz" Albums, making way for Grover Washington Jr, Kenny G., Anita Baker, etc.; Phyllis wound up getting an Album deal, and releasing her 1977 self-titled Album, getting great respect from the Jazz community....
- ...then, came Clive..... Buddah Records (Phyllis' label) closed, and she was moved over to Arista Records in 1978; Clive wanted a "DIVA" to break BIG w/ Pop audiences, so he gave Phyllis Pop & Disco tunes to sing....which, Phyllis HATED!
- ..Then Phyllis had her biggest hit w/ 1979's "You Know How...", a Pop-Disco tune, when she still wanted to do Jazz... She went to do "Sophisticated Ladies", and became One of the first R&B Singers to go "Broadway", instead of the other way around.... She & Clive butted heads, until she was dropped from Arista in 1983.....then, she took her Life in 1995...... (7:33) ...
Hey❤️🙏🏿 RBS hope that all is well. Thanks for coming through with the info ALL OF THE TIME.
Whew! That ending leaves me in chills. Do commercial jingles still exist? She does have that voice now that you mention it.
Hmmm…. Starting to think Clive was a bit of a Svengali… And the timeline of him signing Whitney in 1983 and Arista dropping Phyllis the same year seems way too coincidental… like Clive found someone younger he could manipulate and control the trajectory of their “pop” career.
I'm so happy to see this, Empress. Phyllis recorded this 1977 but The Stylistics originally recorded it in 1972. I remember getting one of Phyllis's posthumous albums for Christmas in 2004. The title of the compilation is fittingly "Ultimate Phyllis Hyman" and as I'm looking at the tracklist, "Betcha By Golly, Wow" is the first song on the album. From that point on, I was absolutely hooked on her music. Looking forward to seeing your next video.
Thanks 😊
@@EmpressReactsYou're very welcome, always happy to help.
I grew up in a household that loved Phyllis Hyman. My family lived (partly) in the Caribbean. At that time, going to the record store and buying an album was not an option. We had to wait for American music to come on one of our 2 radio stations (3 if you count the “oldies” station ) or for a video to be played on the American weekend video countdown show on our single TV station.
When Phyllis’ music would play, it was like a religious experience. People would stop what they’re doing to be captivated by her beautiful, gut wrenching soul singing.
I recently saw a video of Brandy and Mariah Carey in the studio together. Mariah kept telling Brandy to sing the Mariah song she was singing in her own voice-not like Mariah. This reaction made me think of that. While artists like Prince remade this song similar to the Stylistics’ version, Phyllis would never sing like anyone else. She took the Stylistics’ song and gave us Phyllis’ version. She didn’t try to imitate, she gave us Phyllis through and through. This is what I loved most about Phyllis-she was original in every sense of the word.
Phyllis had some great remakes-or rePhyllisized songs. Her take on “I got it bad” and “here’s that rainy day” got some well deserved acclaim. However, my favorite Phyllis remake of all is her version of “ What you won’t do for love.” Every time I play it at gatherings, people would ask who is singing. It’s become like a conversation starter. I love Bobby Caldwell’s version. But as with all of Phyllis’ music, her version of this song just speaks directly to my soul.
Here’s something I only recently learned: The Stylistic’s version was actually a remake of Connie Stevens’ song called “keep growing strong.” 😮It’s a great version as well.