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
Use Me
Esther Phillips Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They keep trying to tell me all you want to do is use me
But my answer yeah to all that use me stuff
Is I wanna spread the news that if it feels this good getting used
Oh you just keep on using me until you use me up
Until you use me up
My brother sit me right down and he talked to me
And I'm sure he meant well yeah but when our talk was through
I said brother if you only knew you'd wish that you were in my shoes
You just keep on using me until you use me up
Until you use me up
Oh sometimes yeah it's true you really do abuse me
You get in a crowd of high class people and then you act real rude to me
But oh baby baby baby baby when you love me I can't get enough
I and I wanna spread the news that if it feels this good getting used
Oh you just keep on using me until you use me up
Until you use me up
Talking about you using me but it all depends on what you do
It ain't too bad the way you're using me
'Cause I sure am using you to do the things you do
Ah ha to do the things you do
Esther Phillips's song Use Me is a song about a woman in love with a man who her friends and family believe is only interested in using her. Her friends and brother approach her, advising her to be more cautious in her relationship and warning her against being used. However, the singer assures them that she is aware of this and chooses to continue being used as long as it feels good. She points out how sometimes the man treats her poorly, especially in front of high-class people, but she is willing to forgive him because when he loves her, she can't get enough of him. The song seems to imply that although she is being used, she also finds it useful to be with the man in question.
The song reflects the complex dynamics of a relationship where one party is accused of using the other, but both parties derive something beneficial from the relationship. The singer acknowledges that she is being used but finds it acceptable as long as she gets something out of it. The song highlights the complexities of relationships, where vulnerability, use, and benefit exist simultaneously.
Line by Line Meaning
My friends feel it's their appointed duty
My friends believe it is their responsibility to warn me about you.
They keep trying to tell me all you want to do is use me
They repeatedly warn me that you are only interested in exploiting me.
But my answer yeah to all that use me stuff
But my response to their warnings is that I do not mind being used by you.
Is I wanna spread the news that if it feels this good getting used
I want to share with everyone that even though you're using me, it feels great.
Oh you just keep on using me until you use me up
You have my permission to keep using me until I am completely used up.
My brother sit me right down and he talked to me
My brother gave me his advice on how to deal with you.
He told me that I ought not to let you just walk on me
He instructed me to not allow you to mistreat me.
And I'm sure he meant well yeah but when our talk was through
Although I know he meant well, I did not follow his advice.
I said brother if you only knew you'd wish that you were in my shoes
I told him that if he knew how I felt when I am being used, he would want to be in my position.
Oh sometimes yeah it's true you really do abuse me
Admittedly, there are times when you mistreat me.
You get in a crowd of high class people and then you act real rude to me
You tend to behave rudely towards me when you are around wealthy people.
But oh baby baby baby baby when you love me I can't get enough
However, I cannot resist you when you show me love and affection.
I and I wanna spread the news that if it feels this good getting used
I want everyone to know that even though you use me, the experience is pleasurable.
Oh you just keep on using me until you use me up
You can continue to exploit me until I have nothing left to offer.
Talking about you using me but it all depends on what you do
Even though people talk about you using me, it is dependent on how you use me.
It ain't too bad the way you're using me
I do not mind the way you are using me.
'Cause I sure am using you to do the things you do
The truth is, I am also using you for specific things you offer me.
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Bill Withers
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Sofiapewpew
My friends feel it's their appointed duty
They keep trying to tell me all you want to do is use me baby
My answer yeah
to all that use me stuff
I want to spread the news that if it feels this good getting used
Oh you just keep on using me
until you use me up
Until you use me up
My sister
She sat me right down and she talked to me
She told me
I ought not to let you
just walk on me
She meant well
But when our talk was through
I said brother if you only knew you'd wish that you were in my shoes
You just keep on using me until you use me up
Until you use me up
Sometimes
It's true you really do abuse me
You get in a crowd of high class people and then you act real rude to me
But oh baby baby baby baby when you love me
Inlimitated
I can't get enough
I and I want to spread the news that if it feels this good getting used
Oh you just keep on using me until you use me up
Until you use me up
Talking about you using me but it all depends on what you do
It ain't too bad the way you're using me
'Cause I sure am using you to do the things you do
Ah ha to do the things you do
@fastra3621
The 'yellow' episode of Kaleidoscope brought me here.
And I'm very grateful.
Amazing. ❤️❤️❤️❤️
@Webfreq
Oh me too! Had to listen to the original. Love this one. It stands on its own!
@ChipVorhies
I'm a 54 year-old white male just happened to stumble across this lady today and wow what a treat! That is one incredible voice I will definitely be listening to her much more in the future her style of funk is contagious! Thank you for posting.
@leslielees5438
You deserve more than an hello
@ritaree4239
For sure! I'm a 45 black woman 😊🤣 and your right! I heard this from a TV show and had to find out who she was!
@corduroyjack
I love this comment. I stop being surprised when I find belters like this. Check out the shows Bossa Domingo for more.
@jeffroll8759
Came across this on an episode of Kaleidoscope! ❤
@damngoodyear
Me too. We can grove together 😊
@poonamsvideoblogs
Esther Phillips! Unsung Singing Diva, amazing talent that never was given enough spot light.
@leslielees5438
I introduce her to my friends