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
No Headstone On My Grave
Esther Phillips Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't put no headstone on my grave.
All my life I've been a slave,
I don't want the world to know,
Here lies the fool that loved you so.
Don't send no flowers when I'm gone,
I just want you to put me down, and then move on.
Free, from all this misery.
Now tell my Mother, tell my Mother not to cry,
I'll see her in the by and by.
Tell her that I'm finally free
From all the trouble you caused me.
Please don't, please don't put no headstone on my grave,
Like I said all my life I've been a slave,
Just put me down and let me be
Free, from all this misery.
Oh, tell my Mother not to cry,
Tell her I'll see her in the by and by.
Tell her that I'm finally free
From all the pain you caused me.
But don't, don't put a headstone on my grave
All my life I've been a slave,
I want you to put me down and cover me up, and let me be
Free from all this misery.
Lord, just let me be right now pretty baby,
And just let me go.
In Esther Phillips's song "No Headstone On My Grave," the lyrics express a desire for anonymity in death. The singer of the song asks that no headstone be placed on their grave and that no flowers be sent when they die. The reason for this request is revealed in the next lines: "All my life I've been a slave, I don't want the world to know, Here lies the fool that loved you so." The singer is ashamed of their past, which they feel was spent in a state of servitude to another person who they loved dearly but who they now recognize as having caused them great pain and trouble.
The song speaks to a deep desire for release from a past filled with pain and heartbreak. The singer longs to finally be free, not just from the person who caused them pain, but from the memory of that pain itself. They want to be buried without fanfare, without anyone knowing who they were or what they suffered through. It is a poignant and powerful expression of the weight of emotional baggage that many carry through their lives.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, don't, don't, don't
Please don't do what I'm about to ask you not to do.
Don't put no headstone on my grave.
When I die, please don't put a headstone on my grave.
All my life I've been a slave,
Throughout my life, I've been controlled and oppressed by someone else.
I don't want the world to know,
I don't want anyone to remember me as the person who loved you so much.
Here lies the fool that loved you so.
I don't want my grave to be a reminder of my foolish love for you.
Don't send no flowers when I'm gone,
I don't want people to mourn my death by sending flowers.
I just want you to put me down, and then move on.
I want you to let me go and move on with your life.
Just put me down and let me be
Please let me rest in peace and be free from all the pain and suffering.
Free, from all this misery.
I want to be liberated from all the misery I've experienced in my life.
Now tell my Mother, tell my Mother not to cry,
Please inform my mother not to cry when I pass away.
I'll see her in the by and by.
I'll be reunited with her eventually in the afterlife.
Tell her that I'm finally free
Let her know that I've finally found freedom from all the pain and struggles in my life.
From all the trouble you caused me.
I don't want my grave to become a symbol of all the trouble and pain you've inflicted upon me.
Please don't, please don't put no headstone on my grave,
Once again, I implore you not to put a headstone on my grave.
Like I said all my life I've been a slave,
I've been living as a slave all my life, so I don't want to be reminded of that after death.
Just put me down and let me be
I just want to rest in peace and be free from all the pain and suffering.
Free, from all this misery.
I hope death will bring me the ultimate freedom from all the misery I've endured in my life.
Oh, tell my Mother not to cry,
Once again, please let my mother know not to be too sad when I pass away.
Tell her I'll see her in the by and by.
Tell her that we'll be reunited someday in the afterlife.
Tell her that I'm finally free
Let her know that I'm finally free from all the suffering I've experienced in this life.
From all the pain you caused me.
I want to distance myself from all the pain and troubles that you've caused me.
But don't, don't put a headstone on my grave
Once again, I ask that you do not put a headstone on my grave.
All my life I've been a slave,
I've been in bondage for my entire life, so I don't want that to be remembered.
I want you to put me down and cover me up, and let me be
Please release me from this life and let me rest in peace.
Free from all this misery.
I yearn to be at peace and liberated from all the agony and pain.
Lord, just let me be right now pretty baby,
At this point in time, all I want is to be left alone, pretty baby.
And just let me go.
Let me depart this world in peace.
Writer(s): C. Rich
Contributed by Ryan P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
whagner 2022👤
Que voz linda Brasil
D W Jazzlover
I play this over and over! I love her Voice!!
MyMoppet52
I know I'm the uploader, but I can listen to this over and over and still get chills. Thanks to all who have listened! My best, Moppet
John Johnson
These were the days when music was on point. Sooo good
Jula Vaughs
Greetings from barbados 🇧🇧, thank you
Charlotte Carter
still get chills
John Page
Thanks! I listen to this often. WHat a great song.
Mic
Oh, that unique voice of Esther!
More Time Needed
What a voice. Beautiful!
Pleun
This is just a wonderful masterpiece, its perfect in every little detail. These kind of soul songs go right thru the heart. Thanks for sharing, greetings from the Netherlands everyone ❤️🙏