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
Girl From Ipanema
Esther Phillips Lyrics
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The girl from Ipanema goes walking
And when she passes, each one she passes goes - ah
When she walks, she's like a samba
That swings so cool and sways so gentle
That when she passes, each one she passes goes - ah
How can he tell her he loves her
Yes I would give my heart gladly
But each day, that she walks to the sea
She looks straight ahead, not at he
Tall, (and) tan, (and) young, (and) lovely
The girl from Ipanema goes walking
And when she passes, he smile - but she doesn't see
(Doesn't see)
(She just doesn't see, she never sees him)
Esther Phillips’s rendition of “Girl From Ipanema” is a sultry and melancholy version of the famous Brazilian song. The song describes a beautiful girl from the neighborhood of Ipanema in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The girl is described as tall, tan, young and lovely, and when she walks, she’s like a samba, swinging cool and swaying gentle. The singer, possibly a male figure, watches her closely, admiring her beauty, but feeling a sense of sadness and longing, knowing that he can never have her. In the chorus, Phillips sings, “But he watches her so sadly, how can he tell her he loves her?” The singer is so captivated by the girl that he would give his heart to her gladly, but she never looks at him. Instead, she walks straight ahead towards the sea, and everyone who sees her can’t help but feel enchanted.
The song is an interesting interpretation of the original “Garota de Ipanema” by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes. Esther Phillips's bluesy version changes the tone and mood of the original song. Rather than being a cheerful, optimistic song, it’s turned into something darker, more dramatic, and more heartfelt. The new tempo and instrumentation changes the whole feel of the song, creating a new dimension.
Overall, Phillips’s “Girl From Ipanema” successfully captures unrequited love and the heartache that comes with it. The lyrics are translated beautifully so that English speakers can feel the same emotions of admiration, longing, and sadness described in the original Portuguese version. It’s a remarkable song that conveys a deep passion and yearning that is still resonant today.
Line by Line Meaning
Tall and tan and young and lovely
Describing the beautiful appearance of the young woman from Ipanema.
The girl from Ipanema goes walking
The young woman walks along the beach promenade, catching the attention of those around her.
And when she passes, each one she passes goes - ah
Her presence elicits a feeling of awe and admiration from those who see her.
When she walks, she's like a samba
She exudes a natural and effortless grace while walking, almost as if she is dancing a samba.
That swings so cool and sways so gentle
The way she moves is smooth and easygoing, captivating the attention of observers.
That when she passes, each one she passes goes - ah
As she walks past, people can't help but be struck by her beauty and gracefulness.
(Ooh) But he watch her so sadly
The singer observes a man who looks at the young woman with a sense of longing and sadness.
How can he tell her he loves her
The man is in love with the young woman, but he doesn't know how to express his feelings to her.
Yes I would give my heart gladly
Despite his own sense of sadness and unrequited love, the man would still give everything he has to be with her.
But each day, that she walks to the sea
The young woman walks to the sea every day, seemingly oblivious to the man's presence or feelings for her.
She looks straight ahead, not at he
The young woman is too focused on her own thoughts and activities to notice the man who watches her.
Tall, (and) tan, (and) young, (and) lovely
Repeating the description of the young woman's beautiful appearance.
The girl from Ipanema goes walking
Repeating the image of the young woman walking along the beach promenade.
And when she passes, he smile - but she doesn't see
Despite his own feelings, the man still smiles at the young woman when she walks past, but she is unaware of his presence.
(Doesn't see)
Emphasizing that the young woman never notices the man who watches her from afar.
(She just doesn't see, she never sees him)
Reinforcing the idea that the young woman is completely unaware of the man's feelings for her.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Tratore, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Norman Gimbel, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Vinicius De Moraes
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind