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Track: Use Me
Artist: Esther Phillips
Album: Alone Again, Naturally (Expanded Edition)

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Esther Phillips Image

Name: Esther Phillips
Spotify Genres: northern soul, jazz blues, soul
Followers: 66,746
Popularity:

42/100

Biography

Esther Phillips was an American soul and rhythm & blues singer (December 23, 1935, Galveston, Texas - August 7, 1984 in Carson, California). She was an influence on many other artists including [a38863]. She was already a mature singer at age fourteen, and won the amateur talent contest in 1949 at the Barrelhouse Club owned by [a=Johnny Otis]. Otis was so impressed he billed her as 'Little Esther' and added her to his traveling revue, the California Rhythm and Blues Caravan. Her first hit record was "Double Crossing Blues" (#1 R+B), recorded in 1950 for [l=Savoy Records]. Her duet with [a=Mel Walker] on "Mistrusting Blues", also went to number one that year, as did "Cupid Boogie". Other Little Esther records that made it onto the U.S. Billboard R&B chart in 1950 include "Misery" (#9), "Deceivin'" (#4), "Wedding Boogie" (#6), and "Faraway Blues" (#6). Few artists, R&B or otherwise, have ever enjoyed such success in their debut year. Phillips left Otis and the Savoy label at the end of 1950 and signed with [url=http://www.discogs.com/label/Federal+Records+%282%29]Federal Records[/url]. Although she recorded more than thirty sides for Federal, only one, "Ring-a-Ding-Doo", charted; making it to #8 in 1952. Not working with Otis was part of her problem; the other part was her drug usage. By the middle of the decade Phillips was chronically addicted to drugs. Phillips ultimately got well enough to launch a comeback in 1962. Now billed as Esther Phillips instead of Little Esther, she recorded a country tune, "Release Me," with producer [a=Bob Gans]. This went to number 1 on R&B and number 8 on the pop listings. After several other minor R&B hits on [url=http://www.discogs.com/label/Lenox+Records]Lenox[/url], she was signed by [l=Atlantic] Records. Her cover of [a=The Beatles] song "And I Love Him" nearly made the R&B Top Ten in 1965 and The Beatles flew her to the UK for her first overseas performances. During the 1970's she made a temporary move into disco material and scored an international hit with "What A Difference A Day Made", an updating of the 1930's jazz standard. Phillips died at UCLA Medical Center in Carson, California in 1984, at the age of 48 from liver and kidney failure.

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Release: Esther Phillips - Use Me
Year: 1973
Genres: Funk / Soul
Styles: Soul, Funk

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Source: MusicBrainz

LYRICS

My friends feel it's their appointed duty
They keep trying to tell me all you want to do is use me
But my answer yeah to all that use me stuff
Is I wanna spread the news that if it feels this good getting used
Oh you just keep on using me until you use me up
Until you use me up

My brother sit me right down and he talked to me
He told me that I ought not to let you just walk on me
And I'm sure he meant well yeah but when our talk was through
I said brother if you only knew you'd wish that you were in my shoes
You just keep on using me until you use me up
Until you use me up

Oh sometimes yeah it's true you really do abuse me
You get in a crowd of high class people and then you act real rude to me
But oh baby baby baby baby when you love me I can't get enough
I and I wanna spread the news that if it feels this good getting used
Oh you just keep on using me until you use me up
Until you use me up

Talking about you using me but it all depends on what you do
It ain't too bad the way you're using me
'Cause I sure am using you to do the things you do
Ah ha to do the things you do