Phyllis Hyman was born on July 6, 1949 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania. She was known to the world as a soul singer and a tony nominated actress. She was one of the most talented actresses/singers in America.

Phyllis Hyman

"Be nice to take that thing home and put it on my wall - but you know it ain't even real. Just a record they spray-painted gold. But that's OK. I'll take this and be more than thrilled! I've been in the business long enough to collect a whole bunch of them.."

Phyllis Hyman was born on July 6, 1949 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania. She was known to the world as a soul singer and a tony nominated actress. She was one of the most talented actresses/singers in America.

She lived a short life, but continued through her music, and the love of her fans from all over the world. She provided the R&B industry with a different sound then before, and they are still playing her music to this day on radios.

The Start of Her Career

Hyman received a scholarship to a music school after she left Pittsburgh. She graduated, and performed on a national tour with New Direction during the year 1971. The group she was touring with split up, and she moved on to work with All the People, and another local group named Hondo Beat.

She appeared in the film Lenny that came out in 1974. She put together a band, and was leader of it. They named it Phyllis Hyman and the P/H Factor; they played for two years together. Hyman was discovered by pop artist Sid Maurer, who introduced her to the Epic Records promoter Fred Frank in 1975. They signed her with their Roadshow Records/Desert Moon imprint for the first time.

Moving On Through Her Career

Hyman then thought it was best to move to New York City in order to work on her reputation more for her singing career. She sang background vocals on Jon Lucien's Premonition, and continued to establish herself by working in clubs through out NYC. She was spotted in one of the clubs she was singing at by Norman Connors, who offered her a spot as a vocalist on his newest album, You Are My Starship which was going to be released in 1976.

She did a duo with Connors, and scored on the R&B charts with their remake version of Betcha by Golly Wow! Hyman went on to sing with Pharoah Sanders and the Fatback Band during the time she was also working on her first solo album, Phyllis Hyman which was going to be released in 1977 with Buddah Records. Buddah Records was bought, and transferred to Arista Records which also took Hyman with them during the transfer.

Making it Big

She made an album, Somewhere in My Lifetime that was released in 1978; the title track was produced and labeled by Barry Manilow. This was her first record for Arista Records. Her album, that came out after the first titled You Know How to Love Me, made the R&B Top 20, and also was put on the dance charts.

Hyman married her manager Larry Alexander in the late 70's. The marriage did not last long, the professional relationship didn't last either, and they separated and went in different directions. Hyman went on to make her first solo top ten hit in 1981, Can't We Fall In Love Again which was sung as a duet with Michael Henderson. The song was recorded as she was performing in the Broadway musical tribute to Duke Ellington, Sophisticated Ladies.

Following Her Dreams

When problems between Hyman and the label, Arista arrived, she took a stop in her recording career to focus on the acting part of it. She did various movie soundtracks, television commercials, and guest vocals in her spare time. She toured throughout the states often, and did a college lecture tour.

She left Arist in 1985, and released an album Living All Alone on Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff's Philadelphia International label the following year. She continued internationally touring. Her biggest album ever, Prime of My Life that was released in 1991 and the track, Don't Wanna Change the World made the Billboard Top 100 hit. The record sold 454,000 copies, and was RIAA certified Gold in 1992.

The End of Her Career

Phyllis Hyman recorded her last album, I Refuse to Be Lonely that told the journey into her personal life through the years. On June 30, 1995, Hyman was said to have committed suicide by overdosing on pentobarbital and secobarbital in her New York City apartment. She was found just hours before she was scheduled to perform at the Apollo Theatre. She passed at 45 years old.

A posthumous album was released three years later of previously unreleased material. The songs were collected from various recording sessions from the mid 1980's and into the early 1990's. In 2003 another album of unreleased work of Hyman's as well as commentary from her closest friends. An authorized biography was released in 2007 by Jason A. Michael titled Strength of a Woman: the Phyllis Hyman Story.

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