Phyllis Linda Hyman (July 6, 1949 – June 30, 1995) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Hyman is best known for her music during the late 1970s through the early 1990s, some of her most notable songs were " You Know How to Love Me" (1979), "Living All Alone" (1986) and "

Don't Wanna Change the World "Don't Wanna Change the World" is a song written by David Darlington. Karen Manno and Jonathan Rosen and recorded by American R&B singer Phyllis Hyman, taken from her eighth studio album, '' Prime of My Life''. The hit song spent one week at numb ...

" (1991). Hyman also performed on Broadway in the 1981 musical based on the music of

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was ba ...

, '' Sophisticated Ladies'', which ran from 1981 until 1983. The musical earned her a

Theatre World Award The Theatre World Award is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or Off-Broadway. It was first awarded for the 1945–1946 theatre s ...

and a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

nomination for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical. After an extended struggle with her mental health, Hyman died by suicide in 1995 at her

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

apartment.

Early life and early career

The eldest of seven children, Hyman was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, Pennsylvania to Phillip, a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

veteran, and Louise Hyman, a waitress at a local night club, and grew up in

St. Clair Village St. Clair Village was a public housing project of the Pittsburgh Housing Authority. Originally built in the 1950s, with 680 apartments, it fell into disrepair and financial difficulty along with much public housing in the city and was demolished i ...

, the South Hills section of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. Hyman's paternal great-grandparents were Ishmael and Cassandra (Cross) Hyman. After leaving Pittsburgh, her music training started at a music school. On graduation, she performed on a national tour with the group, New Direction, in 1971. After the group disbanded, she joined All the People and worked with another local group, The Hondo Beat. She appeared in the film '' Lenny'' (1974). She also did a two-year stint leading a band called "Phyllis Hyman and the P/H Factor." In 1975, music industry veteran, Sid Maurer, and former Epic Records promoter, Fred Frank, discovered and signed her to their Roadshow Records/Desert Moon imprint. Hyman moved to New York City where she did background vocals on

Jon Lucien Lucien Leopold Harrigan (January 8, 1942 – August 18, 2007), known professionally as Jon Lucien, was a singer from Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. His parents were Eric "Rico" Lucien Harrigan and Eloise Turnbull Harrigan of Tortolan famil ...

's ''Premonition'' and worked in clubs. In 1975 when

Norman Connors Norman Connors (born March 1, 1947) is an American jazz drummer, composer, arranger, and producer who has led a number of influential jazz and R&B groups. He also achieved several big R&B hits of the day, especially with love ballads. He is pos ...

was laying tracks for '' You Are My Starship'' (1976), he could not get permission to use

Jean Carne Jean Carn, also spelled Jean Carne (born Sarah Jean Perkins; March 15, 1947) is an American jazz and pop singer. In mid career, she added a final ''e'' to her name. Carn is a vocalist credited with a five octave vocal range. Biography Carn was ...

for the album. He heard about Phyllis Hyman, who was working at a club on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. One night after a Jon Lucien concert at Carnegie Hall, he saw Hyman perform and offered her a spot as the female vocalist on his fourth album for Buddah Records. After the title song got airplay on jazz radio, ''You Are My Starship'' went gold, catapulting Hyman's, Norman Connors's, and Michael Henderson's careers to new heights. R&B radio jumped on board and Connors and Hyman scored on the R&B chart with a remake of

The Stylistics The Stylistics are an American, Philadelphia soul group that achieved their greatest chart success in the 1970s. They formed in 1968, with a lineup of singers Russell Thompkins Jr., Herb Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith and James Dunn. All ...

' "

Betcha by Golly Wow! "Betcha by Golly, Wow" is a song written by Thom Bell and Linda Creed, originally titled "Keep Growing Strong" and recorded by Connie Stevens under the Bell label in 1970. Stevens' recording runs two minutes and thirty seconds. The composition ...

Later career

Hyman sang with

Pharoah Sanders Pharoah Sanders (born Ferrell Lee Sanders; October 13, 1940 – September 24, 2022) was an American jazz saxophonist. Known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on the saxophone, as well as his use of " sheets of sound", S ...

and the Fatback Band while working on her first solo album, ''

Phyllis Hyman Phyllis Linda Hyman (July 6, 1949 – June 30, 1995) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Hyman is best known for her music during the late 1970s through the early 1990s, some of her most notable songs were "You Know How to Love Me" ...

'', released in 1977 on the

Buddah Records Buddah Records (later known as Buddha Records) was an American record label founded in 1967 in New York City. The label was born out of Kama Sutra Records, an MGM Records-distributed label, which remained a key imprint following Buddah's foundi ...

label. When

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertain ...

bought Buddha, she was transferred to that label. Her first album for Arista, '' Somewhere in My Lifetime'', was released in 1978; the title track was produced by then-labelmate

Barry Manilow Barry Manilow (born Barry Alan Pincus; June 17, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter with a career that spans seven decades. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", " Somewhere Down the Road", " Mandy", "I Write the Songs", " Can ...

. Her follow-up album, '' You Know How to Love Me'', made the R&B Top 20 and also performed well on the club–dance charts. In the late 1970s, Hyman married her manager Larry Alexander (the brother of Jamaican pianist and melodica player

Monty Alexander Montgomery Bernard "Monty" Alexander (born 6 June 1944) is a Jamaican jazz pianist. His playing has a Caribbean influence and bright swinging feeling, with a strong vocabulary of bebop jazz and blues rooted melodies. He was influenced by Lou ...

), but both the personal and professional associations ended in divorce. Around this time, Hyman began using cocaine, for which she developed a lifelong dependency. Hyman's first solo R&B Top Ten hit came in 1981 with " Can't We Fall in Love Again?", a duet with Michael Henderson. The song was recorded while she was performing in the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musical '' Sophisticated Ladies'', a tribute to

. She performed in the role for almost two years, receiving a

nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical and winning a

for Best Newcomer. Problems between Hyman and her label, Arista, caused a pause in her recording career. She used the time to appear on movie soundtracks, television commercials and guest vocals, working with

Chuck Mangione Charles Frank Mangione ( ; born November 29, 1940) is an American flugelhorn player, voice actor, trumpeter and composer. He came to prominence as a member of Art Blakey's band in the 1960s, and later co-led the Jazz Brothers with his brother, ...

The Whispers The Whispers is an American group from Los Angeles, California, who have scored hit records since the late 1960s. They are best known for their two number one R&B singles, " And the Beat Goes On" in 1980 and " Rock Steady" in 1987. The Whispe ...

and

The Four Tops ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

. Hyman provided vocals for three tracks on

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

pianist

McCoy Tyner Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938March 6, 2020) was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet (from 1960 to 1965) and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Master and five-time Gr ...

's '' Looking Out'' (1982). She toured often and did a college lecture tour. In 1983, Hyman recorded the song "Never Say Never Again" as the title song for the James Bond movie of the same name, written by Stephen Forsyth and Jim Ryan. However, Warner Brothers informed Forsyth that

Michel Legrand Michel Jean Legrand (; 24 February 1932 – 26 January 2019) was a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, and jazz pianist. Legrand was a prolific composer, having written over 200 film and television scores, in addition to many so ...

, who wrote the score for the film, had threatened to sue them, claiming he contractually had the rights to the title song. An alternate title song composed by Legrand was eventually used for the film and performed by singer

Lani Hall Lani Hall (born November 6, 1945) is an American singer, lyricist, and author. From 1966 to 1971 she performed as lead vocalist for Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '66. In 1972 Hall released her first solo album, ''Sun Down Lady''. She may be best know ...

, formerly of

Sérgio Mendes Sérgio Santos Mendes (; born February 11, 1941) is a Brazilian musician. His career took off with worldwide hits by his group Brasil '66. He has over 55 releases and plays bossa nova heavily crossed with jazz and funk. He was nominated for ...

and Brasil '66. Free from Arista in 1985, Hyman released the album '' Living All Alone'' on Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff's

Philadelphia International Philadelphia International Records (PIR) was an American record label based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1971 by songwriting and production duo Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff along with their longtime collaborator Thom Bell. I ...

label in 1986, capitalizing on the torch songs, "Old Friend" and the melancholy title track, as well as "You Just Don't Know". In 1987, Phyllis Hyman recorded "Black and Blue" as a duet with

on his 1987 '' Swing Street'' Arista album. Manilow was a long time admirer of Hyman and her work. Shortly afterward, she appeared in the films '' School Daze'' (1988) and '' The Kill Reflex'' (1989). She would also continue to lend her voice to albums for other artists and musicians, including Grover Washington, Jr. and

Lonnie Liston Smith Lonnie Liston Smith Jr. (born December 28, 1940) is an American jazz, soul, and funk musician who played with such jazz artists as Pharoah Sanders and Miles Davis before forming Lonnie Liston Smith and the Cosmic Echoes, recording a number of ...

, while at the same time doing international tours. Hyman's next album, '' Prime of My Life'', released in 1991, again on Philadelphia International, was the biggest of her career. It included her first number-one R&B hit as well as her first ''Billboard'' Top 100 hit, "

". The album provided two more top 10 R&B singles in "Living in Confusion" and "When You Get Right Down to It", and the less successful "I Found Love". Just over a year later, she appeared one last time on a

album, singing the title song, "Remember Who You Are", which became a minor R&B hit. The album and debut single were both RIAA certified Gold in 1992.

Death

Hyman suffered from

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...

and depression for years, having been diagnosed in the 1980s. She often self-medicated with alcohol and drugs, and frequently spoke about suicide. On the afternoon of June 30, 1995, six days before her 46th birthday, Hyman died by suicide by overdosing on a mixture of

Tuinal Tuinal was the brand name of a discontinued combination drug composed of two barbiturate salts (secobarbital sodium and amobarbital sodium) in equal proportions. Tuinal was introduced as a sedative-hypnotic (sleeping pill) medication in the late ...

and

vodka Vodka ( pl, wódka , russian: водка , sv, vodka ) is a clear distilled alcoholic beverage. Different varieties originated in Poland, Russia, and Sweden. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impuriti ...

in the bedroom of her New York City apartment at 211 West 56th Street. She was found unconscious at 2:00 p.m. ( EDT) and died at 3:50 p.m. at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital (now Mount Sinai West) hours before she was scheduled to perform at the

Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater is a music hall at 253 West 125th Street between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard (Seventh Avenue) and Frederick Douglass Boulevard (Eighth Avenue) in the Harlem neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is a n ...

. Her suicide note read in part:

I'm tired. I'm tired. Those of you that I love know who you are. May God bless you.

A memorial service was held at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Manhattan.

Personal life

Hyman was married once, to Larry Alexander, who served as her music arranger from 1977 until divorcing in 1982. She had no children. Hyman was also the cousin of actor

Earle Hyman Earle Hyman (born George Earle Plummer; October 11, 1926 – November 17, 2017) was an American stage, television, and film actor. Hyman is known for his role on '' ThunderCats'' as the voice of Panthro and various other characters. He also app ...

, best known for his recurring role on ''

The Cosby Show ''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom co-created by and starring Bill Cosby, which aired Thursday nights for eight seasons on NBC between September 20, 1984, until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on an upper middle-class Africa ...

'' as Cliff's father, Russell Huxtable.

Posthumous releases

In November 1995, five months after her death, Hyman's posthumous album ''

I Refuse to Be Lonely ''I Refuse to Be Lonely'' is the ninth studio album by American soul singer-songwriter Phyllis Hyman. It was released posthumously in November 1995, five months after the singer's death on June 30, 1995. The album reached number 12 on the ''Bil ...

'' was released, a lyrical journey into her personal life and death. Both the title track and the single "I'm Truly Yours" became minor R&B hits. In April 1998, a posthumous compilation album, ''One on One'' was released with three of her earliest solo sides and nine collaborations including " Take the 'A' Train" with

Gregory Hines Gregory Oliver Hines (February 14, 1946 – August 9, 2003) was an American dancer, actor, choreographer, and singer. He is one of the most celebrated tap dancers of all time. As an actor, he is best known for '' Wolfen'' (1981), '' The Cotton C ...

, " Maybe Tomorrow" with

the Four Tops ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

, and "Betcha By Golly Wow" with

. Three years after her death, a second posthumous album of previously unreleased material was released. Songs were culled from various recording sessions from the mid-1980s into the early 1990s. '' Forever with You'' (1998) contains

love song A love song is a song about romantic love, falling in love, heartbreak after a breakup, and the feelings that these experiences bring. A comprehensive list of even the best known performers and composers of love songs would be a large order. ...

torch song A torch song is a sentimental love song, typically one in which the singer laments an unrequited or lost love, either where one party is oblivious to the existence of the other, where one party has moved on, or where a romantic affair has affect ...

s, bitter-sweet ballads, smooth jazz offerings and uptempo tracks, most of which showcase Hyman's' usual interpretation of heartbreak and strife. Hyman was quoted as saying that these songs were about "relationships gone bad!" Much of the material on this album was initially intended for her ''Living All Alone'' release. The song "Funny How Love Goes" contains a posthumous "duet" featuring vocalist Damon Williams. Half of Hyman's vocals were re-recorded with both singers alternating vocals and providing Williams with exposure. The UK label

Expansion Expansion may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''L'Expansion'', a French monthly business magazine * ''Expansion'' (album), by American jazz pianist Dave Burrell, released in 2004 * ''Expansions'' (McCoy Tyner album), 1970 * ''Expansio ...

released a jazz-soul orientated compilation in 2003 called ''In Between the Heartaches'' that featured cuts from her collaborations with

and

. It also included five unreleased tracks from her period with Arista records. In September 2007, an authorized biography was released. Entitled ''Strength of a Woman: The Phyllis Hyman Story'', the book is written by Jason A. Michael in cooperation with the Estate of Phyllis Hyman. The book mentions Hyman's relationships with both men and one woman. In 2008, an original version of the James Bond theme "Never Say Never Again", which was not used in the film due to contractual issues, was released by the track's co-writer Stephen Forsythe. Forsythe has been quoted as stating:

Discography

* ''

'' (1977) * ''

Sing a Song Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

'' (1978) * '' Somewhere in My Lifetime'' (1978) * '' You Know How to Love Me'' (1979) * '' Can't We Fall in Love Again?'' (1981) * '' Goddess of Love'' (1983) * '' Living All Alone'' (1986) * '' Prime of My Life'' (1991) * ''

'' (1995) * '' Forever with You'' (1998)

Filmography

*'' Lenny'' (1974) *'' Too Scared to Scream'' (1985) *'' School Daze'' (1988) *''

Soda Cracker A saltine or soda cracker is a thin, usually square cracker usually made from white flour, sometimes yeast (although many are yeast free), and baking soda, with most varieties lightly sprinkled with coarse salt. It has perforations over its surfa ...

'' (1989)

References

External links

* * *

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

Phyllis Hyman
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

Phyllis Hyman at SoultracksStrength of a Woman – Official site of Hyman's biographyThe New Pittsburgh Courier Online Carrick Honors Alumni Phyllis HymanHyman Pittsburgh Music History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hyman, Phyllis 1949 births 1995 suicides 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Philadelphia American contraltos American women jazz singers American film actresses American musical theatre actresses American soul singers Drug-related suicides in New York City Barbiturates-related deaths Musicians from Pittsburgh Musicians from Philadelphia Northern soul musicians People with bipolar disorder Philadelphia International Records artists Singer-songwriters from Pennsylvania Torch singers American jazz singers American Lutherans American disco singers American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters Ballad musicians Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania 20th-century Lutherans Drug-related deaths in New York City Suicides in New York City Female suicides African-American women singer-songwriters 1995 deaths 20th-century African-American women singers