Esther Phillips

While it took guts to turn the title tune -- a standard -- into a cheesy disco smash, Phillips possessed the talent and drive to surround the hit with classic album tracks (including "I Can Stand a Little Rain" and "You're Coming Home"). Hot jazz fusionists alternating between sleek Philly soul and gritty southern R&B back her exquisitely tart vocals.

The Beck is Joe, not Jeff, a very slick jazz guitarist responsible for the transformation of
Esther Phillips from a cult R&B figure to the disco queen of New York. Phillips's style, since
she came under the tutelage of Dinah Washington 20 years ago, has always been full of
flattened notes, a piercing nasal tone, followed by sudden eruptions of tenderness. Where
Aretha fills you up with her dreams and fantasies, Esther clobbers you over the... More >