Esther Phillips

Here is a famous song excellently performed by the great but underrated singer Esther Phillips.
Esther Mae Jones (1935-1984) who performed as Little Esther and as Esther Phillips, was an American singer; she performed in the pop, country, jazz, and rhythm and blues fields, including soul music.
Born in Galveston, Texas, she entered an amateur contest in 1949 at Johnny Otis's Barrelhouse Club in Los Angeles. Otis was so impressed that he recorded her for Modern Records and added her, billed as Little Esther, to his travelling revue, the California Rhythm and Blues Caravan. After several hit records with Savoy, she left the company in 1951 after a dispute over royalties. She had no further hits until 1962, after being re-discovered by Kenny Rogers. After signing with Rogers' brother's label, Lenox Records, she took the stage name Esther Phillips, and had a hit with Release me (successfully remade in 1967 by Engelbert Humperdinck). Moving to Atlantic Records, she recorded jazzier material and came to the attention of the Beatles, who brought her to the United Kingdom to perform in her own television special. Despite critical success, she had no more hits until she signed with Kudu Records in 1971. Months later, in 1972, Phillips released her first, most daring and possibly finest recording effort for Kudu, From a whisper to a scream. This album garnered a Grammy nomination in 1972, and, when Phillips lost to "Queen of soul" Aretha Franklin, the soul diva presented the trophy to Phillips, saying she should have won it instead. The distinctively nasal, whisky-and-cigarettes quality of Phillips' voice was unique among recording artists of her time. Her biggest hit for Kudu was a 1975 cover version of Dinah Washington's What a difference a day makes. Phillips' performing career also reached its zenith during this period. After leaving Kudu for Mercury Records and Winning Records, she unfortunately failed to maintain her success.
Listen to Esther's spectacular voice and enjoy!

And I love him!

And here is a great rendition of a famous song (performed namely by Big Maybelle).

Candy