The history of modern soul music is unfortunately littered with stories of truly magnificent artists who spent much of their adult lives fighting personal demons while creating seminal music.  Phyllis Hyman is, sadly, one of those stories.  The Philadelphia native was a popular jazz club singer in New York when hot producer Norman Connors witnessed her show and pegged her to perform a cover of the Stylistics’ “Betcha By Golly Wow” on his You Are My Starship album.  Her emotive, jazzy stylings melded perfectly with Connors’ production, and her stunning performance resulted in her being signed by Buddah Records for a 1977 self-titled solo debut….READ ENTIRE BIOGRAPHY OF PHYLLIS HYMAN.

And watch the Phyllis Hyman episode of TV One’s “Unsung” below: