Phil Phillips
{{Short description|American musician (1926–2020)}}
{{about|the singer|other people with the same name|Philip Phillips (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Phil Phillips
| image =
| caption =
| image_size =
| background = solo_singer
| birth_name = John Philip Baptiste
| alias =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1926|03|14}}
| birth_place = Crowley, Louisiana, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2020|3|14|1926|3|14}}
| death_place = Lake Charles, Louisiana, U.S.
| genre = Swamp pop
| occupation = Singer, songwriter
| years_active =
| label =
| website = [https://www.facebook.com/pages/Phil-Phillips/186725248027086 Official Facebook]
}}
John Philip Baptiste (March 14, 1926 – March 14, 2020), known as Phil Phillips, was an American singer and songwriter, best known for his 1959 song, "Sea of Love".
Biography
Baptiste was encouraged to pursue a career as a singer after a school performance of a song called "Sweet Slumber".[https://www.myspace.com/thephilphillips Myspace.com], Phil Phillips MySpace page autobiography He performed with his brothers in a gospel group called the Gateway Quartet and worked as a bellhop before he recorded "Sea of Love" in 1959.
The song was arranged and produced by Eddie Shuler for neighbor George Khoury's Khoury Records.{{cite web|url=http://louisianamusichalloffame.org/content/view/46/83/|title=Phil Phillips|last=Aswell|first=Tom|work=Louisiana Rocks - The True Genesis of Rock And Roll|publisher=Louisiana Music Hall of Fame|access-date=14 June 2010}} After three months of work on the arrangement, building up the vocal group and trying out different musicians, the song was ready for release. Baptiste changed his name to Phil Phillips, and dubbed his backing vocalists the Twilights. After a Baton Rouge disc jockey played the song repeatedly, the recording sold heavily and was leased to Mercury Records.
"Sea of Love" went to No. 2 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 pop chart and spent 14 weeks in the top 40, as well as reaching No. 1 on the R&B chart. Additionally, it sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.{{cite book
| first= Joseph
| last= Murrells
| year= 1978
| title= The Book of Golden Discs
| edition= 2nd
| publisher= Barrie and Jenkins Ltd
| location= London
| pages= [https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/116 116–117]
| isbn= 0-214-20512-6
| url-access= registration
| url= https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/116
}} Nonetheless, Phillips was paid only $6800, and received no further royalties for the song or its recording.{{cite web|url=http://www.rockabilly.nl/references/messages/phil_phillips.htm|title=PHIL PHILLIPS|work=This Is My Story|publisher=BlackCat Rockabilly Europe|access-date=14 June 2010}}
Phillips did not release an album to capitalize on his success, due to the unfavorable terms of his deal. "Because I decided to fight for what was rightfully and legally mine, a full album that I recorded was never released. I'm not being paid, nor have I ever been paid, as an artist for 'Sea of Love'. I never received justice and to this day have not received justice."
The song remains a big seller with notable covers by Del Shannon (which reached No. 33 on the pop chart in 1982) and the Honeydrippers (which peaked at No. 3 spending 14 weeks in the top 40 in 1984). Phillips' original version was featured prominently in the 1989 film Sea of Love starring Al Pacino which also presents a cover version by Tom Waits that plays during the end credits. Cat Power's The Covers Record also achieved a moderate success.
Among Phillips' other songs is "No One Needs My Love Today" (1966), which was recorded by Samantha Juste, co-host of BBC TV's Top of the Pops. He also recorded an anti-drug spoken word recording, "The Evil Dope", in the late 1960s; the single is considered a cult classic.{{cite web|url=http://www.ponderosastomp.com/music_more.php/67/Phil+Phillips|title=Phil Phillips|website=Ponderosastomp.com|access-date=February 19, 2020}}
Phillips later worked as a radio DJ. He married and had seven children.
In October 2007, Phillips was honored for his contributions to Louisiana music with induction into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.{{cite web|url=http://louisianamusichalloffame.org/index.php|title=Louisiana Music Hall of Fame - HOME|website=Louisianamusichalloffame.org|access-date=February 19, 2020}}
One of his last live performances was in April 2005 at the Jazz Fest in New Orleans, Louisiana, a few months before Hurricane Katrina. He died on March 14, 2020, his 94th birthday.{{cite web|url=https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/lake-charles-la/philip-baptiste-9085044 |title=Philip Baptiste Obituary - Lake Charles, LA |website=Dignitymemorial.com |access-date=2020-03-24}}{{cite web|url=https://www.kplctv.com/2020/03/25/sea-love-singer-phil-phillips-dies/ |title='Sea of Love' singer Phil Phillips dies at 94 |publisher=Kplctv.com |date=March 25, 2020 |access-date=March 29, 2020}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.reverbnation.com/philphillips Reverbnation]
- [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeSI72Z8l8TswWUwgosXylg YouTube]
- [http://www.ponderosastomp.com/music_more.php/67/Phil+Phillips?PHPSESSID=287372c5862272c7e37ccbe8372e9d35 Ponderosa Stomp Interview]
- [https://www.bear-family.com/phillips-phil-sea-of-love-incl.-9-prev.unissued-masters.html Bear Family Records] (First official album)
- [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00140GX4M Amazon.com]
- [https://music.apple.com/us/album/phil-phillips/1268989842]
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Category:African-American male singer-songwriters
Category:American male singer-songwriters
Category:Writers from Lake Charles, Louisiana
Category:Musicians from Lake Charles, Louisiana
Category:Singer-songwriters from Louisiana
Category:20th-century African-American male singers