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
Just Out of Reach
Esther Phillips Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Dreams that just won't let me be
Blues that keep on both'rin' me
Chains that just won't set me free
Too far away from you and all your charms
Just out of reach of my two open arms
Each night in dreams I see your face
Then I awake and find you've gone
I'm so blue, I'm all alone
So far away from lips so sweet and warm
Just out of reach of my two open arms
(That lonesome feeling all the time)
(Knowing you cannot be mine)
Dreams that hurt me in my sleep
Vows that we could never keep
Too far away from lips so sweet and warm
Just out of reach of my two open arms
The song "Just Out Of Reach" by Esther Phillips is a heart-wrenching tale of unrequited love and distance. The opening stanza sets the tone for the rest of the song as Phillips sings of love that slips away, dreams that never seem to come true, and the painful blues that continue to plague her. The references to "chains that just won't set me free" and feeling "all alone" create a sense of confinement and loneliness within the singer.
Phillips sings about the memories that she can't erase, and in her dreams, she sees the face of the one she loves. But when she wakes up, she finds herself back in the reality of being "so far away" and unable to reach the warmth of the other person's arms. The repetition of the line "just out of reach of my two open arms" highlights the profound sense of longing and yearning for something that is forever out of grasp.
The song takes the listener on an emotional journey of sadness and longing for an unattainable love, leaving a lasting impact with its haunting melody and poignant lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
Love that runs away from me
The feeling of love disappearing and leaving me feeling empty.
Dreams that just won't let me be
Thoughts of being with someone that I can't let go of, even in my sleep.
Blues that keep on both'rin' me
A feeling of sadness that I can’t shake.
Chains that just won't set me free
Being held back by something I can't break free from.
Too far away from you and all your charms
Being separated from the one I love and yearn for.
Just out of reach of my two open arms
I'm so close to holding the one I love but just can't seem to grasp them.
Each night in dreams I see your face
Thinking and dreaming about the one I love every night.
Memories time cannot erase
Remembering every moment I've spent with the person I love and cannot forget.
Then I awake and find you've gone
Waking up to the reality that the person I want is not there.
I'm so blue, I'm all alone
Feeling sad and lonely without the one I love beside me.
So far away from lips so sweet and warm
Being separated from the one I love and their touch.
Just out of reach of my two open arms
Feeling like I'll never be able to hold the one I love and they will always be just out of my grasp.
(That lonesome feeling all the time)
Feeling lonely and isolated despite being surrounded by people.
(Knowing you cannot be mine)
Understanding that the person I love is not someone I can be with.
Dreams that hurt me in my sleep
Having dreams that leave me feeling heartbroken when I wake up.
Vows that we could never keep
Making promises to each other that we knew we couldn't keep.
Too far away from lips so sweet and warm
Being separated from the one I love and their touch.
Just out of reach of my two open arms
Feeling like I'll never be able to hold the one I love and they will always be just out of my grasp.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Virgil Stewart
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Thomas Lombardo
This is a wonderful old Patsy Cline song that I’ve always loved. Esther does a very nice job. Lovely performance.😊
Nicolae Marian
The original version of this song does not belong to Patsy Cline ... the original version was made by The Stewart Family in 1951 .... other versions are covers ...
Steve Karakalpakis
Lovely voice with passion...like every soul singer...has this talent in their hearts...
WIDEVIEW
Knockout!! Have another version, by Solomon Burke, [happy with both] can't remember who did it first, both long play [albums] both with plenty of soulfully sung tunes like this.
city zen
"Just Out of Reach (Of My Two Open Arms)" (sometimes rendered as "Just Out of Reach (Of My Two Empty Arms)") is a country song written by Virgil "Pappy" Stewart and originally recorded by his band, The Stewart Family, in 1951. It was a minor country hit for Faron Young in 1952, reaching #10 on the country charts and was also recorded by Patsy Cline and Percy Sledge and many others. The most successful version was recorded by singer Solomon Burke as his second single from Atlantic Records in 1961, becoming Burke's first hit single.
Dorothy Edwards
Been listening to this lady since the 60's when she was Little Esther and I do relate to her music even now & I'm past 80 years Beautiful voice Guess by now everyone I'm old school
barbara19ish
Just listen to the words, and thats when the memories take over.
xbigshot1
WOW.............Incredible voice.........
Sue Davis
I love Esther Phillips' voice. What a talent she was. Forever in my heart and a part of my youth.
Roy Jones
Great to hear 😃