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
People
Esther Phillips Lyrics
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People who need people,
Are the luckiest people in the world
We're children, needing other children
And yet letting a grown-up pride
Hide all the need inside
Acting more like children than children
They're the luckiest people in the world
With one person one very special person
A feeling deep in your soul
Says you were half now you're whole
No more hunger and thirst
But first be a person who needs people.
People who need people
Are the luckiest people in the world
With one person one very special person
No more hunger and thirst
But first be a person who needs people
People who need people
Are the luckiest people in the world
Esther Phillips’s song “People” explores the importance and value of human relationships. The lyrics emphasize that people are lucky to have other people in their lives. Specifically, the song talks about different types of relationships, such as the ones between children and adults, lovers, and friends. The lyrics suggest that people need each other because they satisfy emotional and social needs that cannot be fulfilled alone. By admitting to needing others, people can become their true selves and find wholeness. Furthermore, the lyrics suggest that people who are honest about their dependence on others are more fortunate than those who try to hide their emotions and act tough.
The first line "People, People who need people, Are the luckiest people in the world" is an iconic phrase emphasizing how much we all depend on each other. We as humans need each other to survive, to have social connections and to have someone to talk to and share our problems.
In the lyrics “We're children, needing other children And yet letting a grown-up pride,” convey a message that as we grow up, we often develop a sense of pride that makes us reluctant to ask for help from others. We begin to feel ashamed to reveal our emotions, we pretend to have everything under control. The line suggests that we’re all just children inside, still needing the support of our peers and loved ones.
The lyrics “But first be a person who needs people” implies that being vulnerable and open about our emotions is a strength, not a weakness. By embracing our emotions and acknowledging our dependence on others, we can form genuine bonds that make us feel whole. The song encourages to nurture our relationships and treasure the people in our lives.
Line by Line Meaning
People,
The world is filled with people.
People who need people,
People who depend on others are fortunate.
Are the luckiest people in the world
Being needy connects one to good fortune.
We're children, needing other children
We are all children who require the presence of fellow children.
And yet letting a grown-up pride
Even though we have pride of adults,
Hide all the need inside
We keep our needs secretly hidden.
Acting more like children than children
We behave like children despite supposedly being adults.
Lovers are very special people
People in love are extraordinary beings.
They're the luckiest people in the world
Lovers hold a special position in the world.
With one person one very special person
Finding someone special is a rare and fortunate event.
A feeling deep in your soul
A great sensation in the heart is stirring inside.
Says you were half now you're whole
You are complete when you find that special person.
No more hunger and thirst
You will no longer hunger or thirst for love.
But first be a person who needs people.
In order to find that special person, you must first acknowledge your need for others.
People who need people
Those who rely on others.
Are the luckiest people in the world
They are blessed with good fortune.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JONATHAN MICHAEL MCLAUGHLIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind