Born Esther Mae Jones in Galveston, Texas, when she was an adolescent, her parents divorced, and she was forced to divide her time between her father in Houston and her mother in the Watts area of Los Angeles. Because she was brought up singing in church, she was hesitant to enter a talent contest at a local blues club, but her sister insisted and she complied. A mature singer at age fourteen, she won the amateur talent contest in 1949 at the Barrelhouse Club owned by Johnny Otis. Otis was so impressed that he recorded her for Modern Records and added her to his traveling revue, the California Rhythm and Blues Caravan, billed as 'Little Esther Phillips' (she reportedly took the surname from a gas station sign).
Her first hit record was Double Crossing Blues, recorded in 1950 for Savoy Records. After several hit records with Savoy, including her duet with Mel Walker on Mistrusting Blues, which went to number one that year, as did "Cupid Boogie". Other Phillips records that made it onto the U.S. Billboard R&B chart in 1950 include "Misery" (number 9), "Deceivin' Blues" (number 4), "Wedding Boogie" (number 6), and "Faraway Blues" (number 6). Few female artists, R&B or otherwise, had ever enjoyed such success in their debut year. Phillips left Otis and the Savoy label at the end of 1950 and signed with Federal Records.
But just as quickly as the hits had started, they stopped. Although she recorded more than thirty sides for Federal, only one, Ring-a-Ding-Doo, charted; the song made it to number 8 in 1952. Not working with Otis was part of her problem; the other part was her drug usage. By the middle of the decade Phillips was chronically addicted to drugs.
In 1954, she returned to Houston to live with her father to recuperate. Short on money, she worked in small nightclubs around the South, punctuated by periodic hospital stays in Lexington, Kentucky, stemming from her addiction. In 1962, Kenny Rogers re-discovered her while singing at a Houston club and got her signed to his brother Lelan’s Lenox label.
Phillips ultimately got well enough to launch a comeback in 1962. Now billed as Esther Phillips instead of Little Esther, she recorded a country tune, Release Me, with producer Bob Gans. This went to number 1 R&B and number 8 on the pop listings. After several other minor R&B hits on Lenox, she was signed by Atlantic Records. Her cover of The Beatles' song And I Love Him nearly made the R&B Top Ten in 1965 and the Beatles flew her to the UK for her first overseas performances.
She had other hits in the 1960s on the label, but no more chart toppers, and she waged a battle with heroin dependency. With her addiction worsening, Phillips checked into a rehab facility. While undergoing treatment, she cut some sides for Roulette in 1969, mostly produced by Lelan Rogers. On her release, she moved back to Los Angeles and re-signed with the Atlantic label. A late 1969 gig at Freddie Jett's Pied Piper club produced the album Burnin'. She performed with the Johnny Otis Show at the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1970.
One of her biggest post-1950s triumphs was in 1972 with her first album for Kudu Records. The song penned by Gil Scott-Heron, Home Is Where the Hatred Is, - an account of drug use — was lead track on From a Whisper to a Scream which went on to be nominated for a Grammy Award. When Phillips lost to Aretha Franklin, the latter presented the trophy to Phillips, saying she should have won it instead.
Taylor continued to cut albums with her until in 1975, she scored her biggest hit single since "Release Me" with a disco-style update of Dinah Washington's What a Diff'rence a Day Makes. It reached a high of a Top 20 chart appearance in the U.S., and Top 10 in the UK Singles Chart. On November 8, 1975 she performed the song on an episode of NBC's Saturday Night hosted by Candice Bergen. The accompanying album of the same name became her biggest seller yet, with arranger Joe Beck on guitar, Michael Brecker on tenor sax, David Sanborn on alto sax, and Randy Brecker on trumpet to Steve Khan on guitar and Don Grolnick on keyboards.
She continued to record and perform throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, completing a total of seven albums on Kudu and four with Mercury Records, for whom she signed in 1977. In 1983, she charted for the final time on a tiny independent label, Winning with Turn Me Out, which reached #85 R&B. She completed recording her final album a few months before her death, but it was not until 1986 that the label (Muse) released the record.
Phillips died at UCLA Medical Center in Carson, California in 1984, at the age of 48 from liver and kidney failure due to drug use. Her funeral services were conducted by Johnny Otis, and she was buried in the Morning Light section, at Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles. The bronze marker recognizes her career achievements, as well as quoting a Bible passage, "In My Father's House Are Many Mansions" - St. John 14:2
Fools Rush In
Esther Phillips Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I used to say
A game I thought I'd never play
"Romance is a game for fools"
I said and grinned
Then you passed by
And here am I
Throwing caution to the wind
Fools rush in where angels fear to tread
And so I come to you, my love, my heart above my head.
Though I see the danger there
If there's a chance for me, then I don't care
Mm-mm-mm-mm
Fools rush in where wise men never go
But wise men never fall in love, so how are they to know?
When we met, I felt my life begin
So open up your heart and let this fool rush in
Fools rush in where wise men never, never, never go
Eh, but wise men never fall in love, so how are they to know?
Ah, when we met, girl, I felt my life begin
So open up your heart and let this fool rush in
Just open up your heart and let this fool rush on in
Just open up your heart because I-I-I-I-I-I-I am coming in
Open up your heart and let this fool rush in!!
The lyrics to Esther Phillips's song "Fools Rush In" are about the singer's change of heart when it comes to romance. She used to believe that love was a game for fools and that she would never play, but when she encounters the person she is singing to, all of her caution flies out the window. Despite seeing the potential danger in falling for someone, she is willing to take the risk and rush in headfirst. The repeated phrase "fools rush in where angels fear to tread" serves as a warning about the potential danger of blind optimism in matters of the heart. However, the singer is unapologetic in her willingness to take that risk, believing that it's better to love and lose than to never love at all.
The lyrics highlight the often irrational nature of love and the way it can make us act against our better judgment. It also speaks to the power of attraction and the way it can override our logical minds. The refrain of "open up your heart and let this fool rush in" is a plea for the other person to take a chance on the singer and be willing to put aside their own caution.
Overall, "Fools Rush In" is a song about the recklessness and risk of falling in love. It acknowledges the potential danger, but ultimately argues that taking that risk is worth it if it means finding love.
Line by Line Meaning
Romance is a game for fools
I used to believe that romance was an activity reserved for foolish people
A game I thought I'd never play
I believed I would never take part in such an activity
Romance is a game for fools
I joked about the foolishness of romance and how I thought it wasn't for me
I said and grinned
I expressed this belief with a smirk on my face
Then you passed by
When I encountered you
And here am I
I find myself
Throwing caution to the wind
taking a reckless approach to romance
Fools rush in where angels fear to tread
Foolish people often attempt to do things that are considered too dangerous for more sensible individuals
And so I come to you, my love, my heart above my head.
Despite the risks involved, I have chosen to pursue a romantic relationship with you, guided only by my heart.
Though I see the danger there
I am aware of the risks associated with my actions
If there's a chance for me, then I don't care
I am willing to take the risk if it means there is a possibility of success
Fools rush in where wise men never go
Foolish people often venture into uncharted territory that more prudent individuals would avoid
But wise men never fall in love, so how are they to know?
More sensible people avoid love and may not understand why fools like myself would be drawn to it
When we met, I felt my life begin
When I first met you, I felt as though my life was starting anew
So open up your heart and let this fool rush in
I am asking you to take a chance on me and on our relationship, even though I may be foolish to do so.
Just open up your heart and let this fool rush on in
I am imploring you to take a chance on me, despite the risks.
Just open up your heart because I-I-I-I-I-I-I am coming in
I am coming into your life and asking you to let me in, despite my foolish tendencies.
Open up your heart and let this fool rush in!!
I am asking you to be vulnerable and let me into your life, even though I may be impulsive and reckless.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Royalty Network, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Johnny Mercer, Rube Bloom
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Tosh Moher
Tosh, Dublin, Ireland. Etta and Jeff together pure bliss🎶🎸
Tosh Moher
Tosh,Dublin meant Joe not Jeff
Tosh Moher
Just gets better and better esther philipps