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
Home Is Where the Hatred Is
Esther Phillips Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm on my way home
I left three days ago but no one seems to know
I'm gone
Home is where the hatred is, home is filled with pain
And it might not be such a bad idea
If I never, never went home again
Hang on to your rosary beads
Close your eyes to watch me die
You keep sayin', kick it, quit it
Kick it, quit it, kick it, quit it
God, but did you ever try to turn your sick soul
Inside out so that the world can watch you die
Home is where I live, inside my white power dreams
Home was once an empty vacuum that's filled now
With my silent screams
Home is where the needle marks
Try to hear my broken heart
And it might not be such a bad idea
If i never, never went home again
Home again, home again, home again
Kick it quit it, kick it quit it, kick it quit it
Kick it, can`t go home again
Esther Phillips's song "Home Is Where the Hatred Is" depicts the life of a drug addict who is struggling with addiction and the emotional turmoil that comes with it. The opening lines "A junkie walking through the twilight, I'm on my way home, I left three days ago but no one seems to know I'm gone" sets the tone for the rest of the song. The singer is wandering the streets in the midst of a drug-induced haze, trying to find his way home. However, the place he calls home is filled with hatred and pain, and he talks about how it might not be such a bad idea if he never went home again.
The chorus "Home is where the hatred is, home is filled with pain" highlights the notion that home is not always the comforting and safe haven that it is supposed to be. The song portrays the struggles and hardships of addiction, as the singer talks about how he is trying to "kick it" and quit, but it seems like a never-ending cycle. The lines "God, but did you ever try to turn your sick soul Inside out so that the world can watch you die" are especially poignant as they convey the feeling of hopelessness and despair that often accompany addiction.
The song is a powerful commentary on addiction, and through its lyrics, it creates a vivid image of the difficulties that people face when trying to overcome addiction. It is a poignant reminder of the importance of understanding and empathy, especially towards people suffering from addiction.
Line by Line Meaning
A junkie walking through the twilight
I am a drug addict, wandering around in the dim light of evening
I'm on my way home
I am heading back to my residence
I left three days ago but no one seems to know
I departed three days back, but nobody is aware of my absence
I'm gone
I am not present currently
Home is where the hatred is, home is filled with pain
The place that I call home is characterized by intense animosity and suffering
And it might not be such a bad idea
Perhaps it is not such a terrible notion
If I never, never went home again
If I never return to my abode
Stand as far away from me as you can and ask me why
Stay as distant from me as feasible and enquire about the reason
Hang on to your rosary beads
Hold your rosary beads tightly
Close your eyes to watch me die
Shut your eyes while I perish
You keep sayin', kick it, quit it
You often suggest that I should cease taking drugs
God, but did you ever try to turn your sick soul
Have you ever attempted to introspect and transform your corrupted soul
Inside out so that the world can watch you die
Completely exposing your inner self for the world to witness your destruction
Home is where I live, inside my white power dreams
I reside in a place characterized by my racist desires
Home was once an empty vacuum that's filled now
My abode was previously a barren space that is now occupied
With my silent screams
Filled with my quiet and suppressed agony
Home is where the needle marks
The place I call home is where I bear the scars of drug abuse
Try to hear my broken heart
Attempt to comprehend the sorrow and distress I experience
And it might not be such a bad idea
Perhaps it is not such a terrible notion
If i never, never went home again
If I never return to my abode
Home again, home again, home again
Returning to my residence, repeatedly
Kick it quit it, kick it quit it, kick it quit it
Stopping and restarting drug abuse, repeatedly
Kick it, can`t go home again
Try to overcome drug addiction, avoiding going back to my residence
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: GIL SCOTT-HERON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@giascott-heron
She did my father’s song proud. 👏🏾👏🏾
@richardblack3385
Omg wow I just found ur fathers music and its really impacted my life lately and gotten me into being more positive. Thank you for sharing
@stuartwinder3211
I saw your dad’s last concert here in the UK, and he was as amazing as ever. This is a great version of one of his classics. May your dad rest in eternal peace. He was a massive influence on me 🙏🏻❤️
@blainelee8021
The revolution will not be televised, that was a man who was way ahead of time, thank you Mr. Gil Scott Heron.
@pbellko
I’m reading your Dad’s book. That’s what brought me to this version. What a superb prose writer he was too! By which I mean - he’s so famed for his music-poetry, but here in the UK I’ve never heard anyone talk about his writing - and I’ve been a writer - and his autobiography is FANTASTIC writing. Anyway. I’m sure you know that!
@bambibam5702
Wow.....I never knew there were so many remakes of your father's song......I love The Other Side on your Dad's Spirits Album.....my favorite! Your Dad sang Happy Birthday to me at Yoshi's in Emeryville Ça........ I'll never forgot how special that was🥰
@ChrisOtheBigC
Brilliant. Esther was nominated for a Grammy for her performances on this album: Aretha Franklin won. Ms. Franklin literally handed her trophy over to Ms. Phillips, stating that she believed no one but Esther Phillips deserved it that year. True story. CLASS.
@jeffreyhall5785
Yeah!
@afrosoul_soul
After seeing Genesis Aretha I can’t see her doing that. But if did salute to her.
@bmproc81chi
@@afrosoul_soul there's photos back in 1970s showing Aretha handing her Grammy to Esther in Jet Mag. However, I completely agree with you on the depiction of Aretha in Genius as being selfish.