Funky16Corners

Esther Phillips – Use Me

By Larry, June 12, 2012 1:04 pm

Esther Phillips

~~Listen/Download Esther Phillips – Use Me~~

Greetings all.

The middle of the week is here and with all the details in place, must inform you that the Funky16Corners 2012 Pledge Drive/Allnighter is a go!

We have eight new mixes from all of your Funky16Corners faves, including Tony C, DJ Prestige, Tarik Thornton, DJ Bluewater, M-Fasis, DJ Prime Mundo and yours truly.

Things will get going this coming Monday, so get your ears and your hard drives humming because you’re in for a treat.

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The tune I bring you today is a groovy cover of a groovy original, which in the end is (very) groovy.

Redundancy aside, if you’re not hip to Esther Phillips, may I suggest you get so.

I remember first hearing (seeing) her as a musical guest in the early days of Saturday Night Live (actually the fourth episode of the first season) performing her then Top 20 hit of the old standard ‘What a Diff’rence a Day Makes’.

Years later, when I started digging for soul 45s I was surprised to see her name pop up in an earlier context with one of her 60s-era Lenox 45s with Big Al Downing.

It was only (much) later that I discovered that by the time she hit SNL she had been recording (and hitting the charts) for a quarter of a century.

Discovered by none other than Johnny Otis, Phillips had her first R&B hit in 1950 with ‘Double Crossing Blues’.

She had a run on the charts that lasted until 1952, then disappeared for nearly a decade, charting again (sporadically) during the 60s.

One of the reasons Phillips’ career contained those gaps was her long-term battle with drug addiction.

She recorded through the 60s for Atlantic and Roulette, before landing at Kudu in 1972 (which is where we pick up the story).

Phillips recorded her cover of Bill Withers’ hit ‘Use Me’ on her 1972 album ‘Alone Again, Naturally’.

I picked up the album because I always grab Kudu stuff whenever I find it, but I was unprepared for how cool her version of ‘Use Me’ was.

The understated drums (Billy Cobham) and electric piano (Richard Tee), in contrast with her distinctive voice and the interjections of the horn section make for an extremely cool interpretation of the tune.

The arrangement, by Pee Wee Ellis is spot on.

As far as I can tell, though Phillips hit the R&B Top 40 a few times around this period, this particular cut, despite its obvious quality, did not.

Phillips’ struggles with drugs continued for the rest of her life and she passed away, not yet 50 in 1984.

I hope you dig it, and I’ll see you all on Friday.