Way Back Wednesday: Remembering Phyllis Hyman :: The Lava Lizard

Jul

11

2012

Way Back Wednesday: Remembering Phyllis Hyman

Written by Trent | Filed under Way Back Wednesday

Phyllis Hyman

On June 30th 1995, the music industry lost one of its rarest talents when Phyllis Hyman committed suicide. However, similar to many great artists who have passed throughout the years, the true magnitude of this phenomenal woman’s gift wasn’t appreciated until after her shocking death.

Possessing an incredibly rich and powerful contralto voice, Hyman was one of a kind. Her presence, range, style and grace all set Hyman apart as a diva in every sense of the word, and Way Back Wednesday will showcase her utter magnificence.

Am I being too dramatic? Well, Hyman embodied that word so watch some of her best performances below and see the legend in action:

‘In a Sentimental Mood’

‘It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That
Swing)’

‘Living All Alone’

‘Old Friend’

‘Sacred Kind of Love’

‘Somewhere in My Lifetime’

‘The Lord’s Prayer’

Hyman was one of those singers who just seemed flawless in every way. She was passionate, powerful and pure, and captured the essence of every lyric as though she was singing them directly into a person’s ear. Add those facets to the rarity of her striking robust contralto voice and she could have handled any song.

It was really a shame that Clive Davis quickly abandoned her to focus on the younger Whitney Houston during the early 1980s because Hyman was equally talented and just a beautiful. Still, sopranos ruled the music scene during that time and Davis was simply being a focused music executive.

Are there any other performances that you would add to this list? Do you think Davis should have given Hyman just as much attention as Houston? Let us know in the comment section below!

Thoughts?
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Keys: phyllis hyman, way back wednesday
- Girrrl
  
  Yaaas Phyllis! She always SANG with emotion.
- Girrrl
  
  Just realized I didn’t answer any of the questions. I think you could have added You Know How To Love Me to show a more upbeat side of Phyllis. In regards to Whitney, it would have been great if Clive would have given them both equal attention. But stuff like this happens all the time albeit usually execs pay more attention to the more “beautiful” less talented person nowadays. Rita Vs. Melanie, Teairra Marie vs. Rihanna, Beyonce vs. Kelly etc. S*** happens
- olivia
  
  um she was very pretty and talented but i prefer whitney
- http://www.jasonvross.wix.com/vaughn Jason-Vaughn Ross
  
  She may not have had the legendary industry success as Whitney achieved, but she SURE had the same out-of-this-WORLD talent! Phyllis will ALWAYS be my favorite alto… ( Her and Gladys share the No. 1 spot in my heart )
  
  I would add her stripped-down interpretation of “It Don’t Mean A Thing” from “Sophisticated Ladies” ( Link below ) LOVE the skat she does! NO ONE could ever duplicate her tone! (Hopefully I can learn how and make some cash LOL) But ladies and gentlemen, Ms. PHYLLIS Hyman – http://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=usp824FAEus
- DOMOdotSCORE
  
  Queen Phyllis Hyman! That voice…oh that voice. She sang every song like she wrote it. You could feel every word. She made you believe her, even when she was singing her lovey dovey songs (even though they weren’t really true to her because her love life wasn’t the greatest). I think that Phyllis is one of the singers that every aspiring singer should study when they want to know how it’s done.
  
  Part of the reason why Clive disregarded Phyllis was because she didn’t want to go along with his plan for her. She wanted to do jazz-R&B fusion and crossing over to the pop world was further from her mind. PH didn’t like the pop flavored R&B songs that Clive wanted her to do. Whitney did what Phyllis wouldn’t. Clive could mold Whitney but Phyllis wasn’t for all of that. Of course, I wish he would’ve gave her his full attention but I can understand why he didn’t.
  
  The performance that I really like and should be here is the impromptu duet between her and Angela Bofill (Get into her if you don’t know her). I think it was such a great diva moment.
- QueenBey4ever
  
  Wow! Trent I love you for this. Her voice is amazing . I can’t believe that I have never heard of her before.
- Yami
  
  ……ya, such a household name, how can anyone forget
- Cecilia
  
  I love Phyllis The ultimate DIVA! Captivating songstress, beautiful woman & performer. Wish she had stayed
- lostluv224
  
  My mother will play a Phyllis song down!!!!
- Felecia
  
  @Girrrl-I was with you until you said Beyonce/Kelly Rowland. Kelly can sing a little bit but Beyonce can sang. I have never EVER hearb Kelly sing as well as Bey in my life. There mag be people that can sing better then Bey…bug Kelly isn’t one of them.
- larry
  
  Phyllis is iconic! yes
- Kanyade
  
  This woman was a mighty siren. A goddess. Look at her! JUST LOOK AT HER! And listen to her. Mercy. Have folk crashing ships into rocks, hypnotized by the notes she sings. Nobody today compares to her. NOBODY. Just like Minnie Riperton. Nobody compares to her either. There was something special about these old school divas. They were true divas and not the flakes calling themselves divas these days. So quick these women are to label themselves as the baddest, the best of, etc. These women of yesterday (Minnie, Phyllis, Angela, etc.) were pure talent without all the commercialization and BRANDING that goes on with today’s “divas” and in my humble opinion ultimately serves as a DISTRACTION taking away from their talent (or lack thereof).
  
  Trent, keep on schooling the masses.
  
  I loved Phyllis’s cover of “Betcha’ By Golly Wow”.
- David D
  
  Nice trip down memory lane. This incredibly talented lady never truly reached her full potential and is very sadly missed. It is truly ironic that both she and Whitney each passed at about the same age.
- Ray
  
  Living in Confusion is my song!
- http://DualShockers.com Kenneth
  
  Love this lady! Here’s a fantastic cover of “You Know How to Love Me”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bri6HX-luGE
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