Sam Phillips (singer)
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- For the person of the same name who founded Sun Records, see Sam Phillips
Leslie Phillips, aka Sam Phillips, (born January 28, 1962) is an American singer and a songwriter.
Phillips, who was born in Glendale, California, began her musical career as a vocalist in the early 1980s, singing background parts for Mark Heard, Randy Stonehill and other artists. After a short time, Phillips was signed to Myrrh Records where she went on to record four pop albums, Beyond Saturday Night, Dancing with Danger, Black and White in a Grey World and, finally, The Turning, which teamed her with producer and future husband, producer T-Bone Burnett.
Although Phillips earned the nickname "Sam" as a child, she didn't start using it professionally until 1988 when she left Myrrh Records and signed with Virgin Records. Soon after, she released The Indescribable Wow, which featured the orchestrations of Brian Wilson lyricist, Van Dyke Parks. Cruel Inventions, which was released in 1991, included a guest appearance from close friend, Elvis Costello. 1994's Martinis and Bikinis, was widely praised by music critics and was even nominated for a Grammy Award, which was Phillips' first nomination. That year also gave Phillips a chance to write a song with Brian Wilson, which would appear on Rob Wasserman's Trios album, performed by Carnie Wilson.
In 1995, Phillips made her silver screen debut in the Bruce Willis blockbuster Die Hard With a Vengeance, where she played a mute terrorist.
In 1996, Phillips released Omnipop (It's Only A Flesh Wound Lambchop), which featured a song cowritten by Phillips and REM. Omnipop, which was more experimental musically, ended up being her worst selling album to date.
In 2001, she released a stripped down acoustic album called Fan Dance, which featured some of the most critically acclaimed songwriting of Phillips' career. Van Dyke Parks contributed beautiful string arrangements for a track or two. Phillips also began writing music for the television series, Gilmore Girls.
In 2004, she released A Boot and a Shoe.
Discography
- Back To The Rock Various Artists, 1981 (Original version of "Bring Me Through" appears on this album- also marking the FIRST appearance on an album.)
- Beyond Saturday Night Leslie Phillips, 1983 album
- Dancing With Danger Leslie Phillips, 1984 album
- Christian Love Songs for Couples - Vol. 1 Various Artists, 1985 (Leslie Phillips sang the song "Enough For Me")
- Black and White in a Grey World Leslie Phillips, 1985 album
- The Turning Leslie Phillips, 1987 album, produced by T-Bone Burnett
- Recollection Leslie Phillips, 1988 "best of" album, produced by T-Bone Burnett (Essentially, a stripped down "best of" collection featuring acoustic version of "Your Kindness" and "No One But You" (available ONLY on this cd) and the demo version of "Walls Of Silence")
- The Indescribable Wow Sam Phillips, 1989 album, produced by T-Bone Burnett
- Cruel Inventions Sam Phillips, 1991 album, produced by T-Bone Burnett
- Martinis and Bikinis Sam Phillips, 1994 album, produced by T-Bone Burnett
- Omnipop (It's Only A Flesh Wound Lambchop) Sam Phillips, 1996 album, produced by T-Bone Burnett
- Zero Zero Zero Sam Phillips, 1999 "best of" album, produced by T-Bone Burnett
- Marantha! Anthology - The Artists, 1971-2001 (Includes re-issue of "Bring Me Through" a song Sam did as Leslie Phillips)
- Fan Dance Sam Phillips, 2001 album, produced by T-Bone Burnett
- A Boot and a Shoe Sam Phillips, 2004 album, produced by T-Bone Burnett