Esther Phillips › Similar Artists

Betty Everett - 100% match to Esther Phillips

23 November 1939, Greenwood, Mississippi, USA, d. 19 August 2001, Beloit, Wisconsin, USA. Having moved to Chicago in the late 50s, R&B/soul singer Everett recorded unsuccessfully for several local labels, including Cobra, C.J. and One-derful, and briefly sang lead with the all-male group the Daylighters. Her hits came soon after signing to Vee Jay Records where ‘You Read more

Barbara Acklin - 95% match to Esther Phillips

28 February 1944, Chicago, Illinois, USA, d. 27 November 1998, Omaha, Nebraska, USA. A vocalist in the style of Dionne Warwick and Brenda Holloway, Acklin first recorded for Special Agent under the name Barbara Allen. In 1966, following a spell as a backing singer, she worked as a receptionist at the Brunswick Records offices, and submitted some of her own compositions to p Read more

Chuck Jackson - 95% match to Esther Phillips

Fontella Bass - 94% match to Esther Phillips

3 July 1940, St. Louis, Missouri, USA. The daughter of gospel luminary Martha Bass, Fontella toured as keyboard player and singer with the Little Milton band during the early 60s. Simultaneously, she made several solo records, including one for Ike Turner’s Prann label. When Milton’s band leader, Oliver Sain, left to form his own group, he took Bass with him, and t Read more

Laura Lee - 91% match to Esther Phillips

Laura Lee Newton, 9 March 1945, Chicago, Illinois, USA. A member of her adopted mother’s, Ernestine Rundless’, gospel group the Meditation Singers, Lee’s first secular recording was made for the Detroit-based Ric-Tic label. She was signed to Chess Records in 1966, who, after failing to find success with a Chicago-recorded single, sent her to Rick Hall’s F Read more

Millie Jackson - 86% match to Esther Phillips

15 July 1944, Thompson, Georgia, USA. A former model, Millie Jackson’s controversial singing career began professionally in 1964 at a club in Hoboken, New Jersey, USA. Her first recordings followed in 1970; over the next three years she made several excellent, if traditional, soul singles, which included two US R&B Top 10 entries, with ‘Ask Me What You Want Read more

Gene Chandler - 85% match to Esther Phillips

Eugene Dixon, 6 July 1937, Chicago, Illinois, USA. Recalled for the gauche but irresistible 1962 US number 1, ‘Duke Of Earl’, Chandler’s million-selling single in fact featured the Dukays, a doo-wop quintet he fronted (Eugene Dixon, Shirley Jones, James Lowe, Earl Edwards and Ben Broyles). His record company preferred to promote a solo artist and thus one of s Read more

Major Lance - 83% match to Esther Phillips

4 April 1939 (1941 is also cited), Winterville, Mississippi, USA, d. 3 September 1994, Decatur, Georgia, USA. A former amateur boxer and a dancer on the Jim Lounsbury record-hop television show, Lance also sang with the Five Gospel Harmonaires and for a brief period with Otis Leavill and Barbara Tyson in the Floats. His 1959 Mercury Records release, ‘I Got A Girl’, Read more

Betty Carter - 77% match to Esther Phillips

Lillie Mae Jones, 16 May 1929, Flint, Michigan, USA, d. 26 September 1998, New York City, New York, USA. Growing up in Detroit, Carter sang with touring jazzmen, including Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. In her late teens, she joined Lionel Hampton, using the stage name Lorene Carter. With Hampton she enjoyed a love-hate relationship; he would regularly fire her only to Read more

Mable John - 76% match to Esther Phillips

3 November 1930, Bastrop, Louisiana, USA. The elder sister of Little Willie John, Mable John was an early signing to Berry Gordy’s Motown Records label. She appeared on the first Motortown Revue in 1959, and recorded four singles for the company. After an interlude working in a small Chicago outlet, Four Brothers, she signed to Stax Records in 1966. Here she specialized Read more

Candi Staton - 75% match to Esther Phillips

Candi Staton-Sussewell, 13 March 1940, Hanceville, Alabama, USA. A former member of the Jewel Gospel Trio, Staton left the group, and her first husband, for a secular career. She was then discovered performing at a club by Clarence Carter, who took the singer to the Fame Records label. Carter wrote her debut hit, the uncompromising ‘I’d Rather Be An Old Man’s Read more

Georgie Fame - 75% match to Esther Phillips

Clive Powell, 26 June 1943, Leigh, Lancashire, England. Entrepreneur Larry Parnes gave the name to this talented organist during the early 60s following a recommendation from songwriter Lionel Bart. Parnes already had a Power, a Wilde, an Eager and a Fury. All he now needed was Fame. It took a number of years before Fame and his band the Blue Flames had commercial success, a Read more

Johnnie Taylor - 73% match to Esther Phillips

5 May 1938, Crawfordsville, Arkansas, USA, d. 31 May 2000, Dallas, Texas, USA. Having left home at the age of 15, Taylor surfaced as part of several gospel groups, including the Five Echoes and the Highway QCs. In 1956 he joined the Soul Stirrers, replacing Sam Cooke on the latter’s recommendation. Taylor switched to secular music in 1961; releases on Cooke’s Sar a Read more

Ann Peebles - 70% match to Esther Phillips

27 April 1947, East St. Louis, Missouri, USA. An impromptu appearance at the Rosewood Club in Memphis led to Peebles’ recording contract. Band leader Gene Miller took the singer to producer Willie Mitchell, whose skills fashioned an impressive debut single, ‘Walk Away’ (1969). Peebles’ style was more fully shaped with ‘Part Time Love’ (1970), an Read more

Gwen McCrae - 69% match to Esther Phillips

21 December 1943, Pensacola, Florida, USA. The wife of George McCrae, Gwen made her mark in the mid-70s with a delightful series of southern-style soul numbers produced by Steve Alaimo and Clarence Reid for Henry Stone’s Miami-based TK operation. She first found success with a remarkable remake of the old Bobby Bland gospel blues, ‘Lead Me On’ (R&B number Read more