December 23rd marks the anniversary of Esther Phillips born day, Esther was born on this day in 1935. She’d have been 88-years old this year, but sadly died just 48-years old, in 1984. I was able to talk to Tim Hinkley earlier in 2023. Tim, a fellow ex-pat Brit’ had some great memories of working with Esther on her 1973 […]
Esther Phillips – Blues Hall of Fame
Esther Phillips is to be inducted into The Blues Foundation’s Hall of Fame ((https://blues.org/hall/)).
Memorialization is a slow process but it starts with recognition. In his review of Esther’s career for the Blues Foundation ((https://blues.org/blues_hof_inductee/esther-phillips/)), Jim O’Neal touches on many of the aspects that made Esther’s career so tragic.
Born Day: Esther Phillips
Born: December 23, 1935Died: August 7, 1984(Age 48)Esther Mae Jones, stage name Esther Phillips, would have been 87 today. To celebrate Esther’s birth day this year I have a track it’s a fair guess you’ve never heard. Also, I have a write-up by the esteemed jazz critic and historian Leonard Feather, from 1970. The connection, the track is from an […]
Remembering Esther Phillips
Esther Phillips died 36-years ago today, on August 7th, 1984, aged just 48. Esther lead a storied, and troubled life. Aged just 13, Esther Mae Jones won an amateur talent contest in 1949 at the Largo Theatre in Watts on 103rd St, she was seen by Johnny Otis who almost immediately signed Esther and put her on at the Barrelhouse […]
CTI Artists on TV
Enjoy two great live performances from artists from CTI. Both comes from VHS tapes I managed to buy from ebay. I was hoping to avoid getting into converting VHS tapes, as they are often more trouble than they are worth. On the full length video of the 1976 awards, George Benson performs his hit “Breezin’” but his years of work […]