The history of modern soul music is unfortunately littered with stories of truly magnificent artists who spent much of their adult lives fighting personal demons while creating seminal music. Phyllis Hyman is, sadly, one of those stories. The Philadelphia native was a popular jazz club singer in New York when hot producer Norman Connors witnessed her show and pegged her to perform a cover of the Stylistics’ “Betcha By Golly Wow” on his You Are My Starship album. Her emotive, jazzy stylings melded perfectly with Connors’ production, and her stunning performance resulted in her being signed by Buddah Records for a 1977 self-titled solo debut. Click Here for the full Phyllis Hyman biography
While it is tough to pick a single Phyllis Hyman song over the others, this week we want to pay attention to one of her most notable ballads, the beautiful “Be Careful (How You Treat My Love).” This sounds as fresh as it did three decades ago. Take another listen to this artist at work.
