25 Years Ago Today We Lost Phyllis Hyman

[Guy]

The scuttlebutt was that Clive back-burnered Phyllis for Angela Bofill, then, as Angela's Arista output progressively languished commercially, enter Whitney.

Angela Bofill is wonderful and a great artist.

What we learned about Phyllis years after she was gone is that she suffered from mental illness. Even those who loved her attest that it made her temperamental, moody and intransigent. She was "back-burnered" because she could not get with Clive's program. It created mutual contempt. Clive is a man of questionable virtue and motivations. However, I believe he recognized Phyllis Hyman's unique talent and wanted to make her a true commercial star. It would have happened if she had been more agreeable -- and not self-sabotaged.

[sansradio]

Angela Bofill is wonderful and a great artist.

What we learned about Phyllis years after she was gone is that she suffered from mental illness. Even those who loved her attest that it made her temperamental, moody and intransigent. She was "back-burnered" because she could not get with Clive's program. It created mutual contempt. Clive is a man of questionable virtue and motivations. However, I believe he recognized Phyllis Hyman's unique talent and wanted to make her a true commercial star. It would have happened if she had been more agreeable -- and not self-sabotaged.

All too true. The lady's demons were definitely a factor, but we can't discount the quality of material she was given a few albums in [notably, the questionable dance tracks on Goddess of Love, for example [[she hated them!), which was partially saved only by Thom Bell's sterling contributions, IMO]. Clive's inattention plus her mental state created the perfect storm. Thankfully, her final albums with EMI and Philly/Zoo/BMG restored her to her rightful glory as a bona fide jazzy torch stylist.