Sam Phillips (musician)

For other people named Sam Phillips, see Sam Phillips (disambiguation).

Sam Phillips
Sam Phillips on concert at Hugh's Room in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Background information
Birth name	Leslie Ann Phillips
Born	January 28, 1962 (1962-01-28)
Origin	Glendale, California, U.S.
Genres	Alternative rock
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Years active	1980–present
Labels	Myrrh Records 1980–1988 Virgin Records 1988–2001 Nonesuch Records 2001–2009 No label 2009–present
Website	Sam Phillips

Leslie Ann Phillips, aka Sam Phillips (born January 28, 1962) is an American singer and a songwriter.

Biography

Phillips was born in Glendale, California. She began her musical career as a vocalist in the early 1980s, singing background parts for Christian artists Mark Heard, Randy Stonehill and others. After a short time, Phillips was signed to a solo contract with Myrrh Records - under her given name - where she went on to record four Christian 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, T-Bone Burnett. Throughout the Myrrh period, Phillips wrote an increasing number of her own songs and several were Top 10 singles on Christian radio.

Since Cyndi Lauper was popular at the time and also had a high-pitched, idiosyncratic vocal style, Myrrh insisted on promoting her as "the Christian Cyndi Lauper." Phillips was never comfortable with this image, and it was a bone of contention between her and the label. She began using the name "Sam" professionally in 1988 when she left Myrrh Records and signed with Virgin Records, partially in order to distance herself from her Myrrh-styled persona.

Like many Christian artists before her, she expanded into mainstream content at the new label. She released The Indescribable Wow, which featured the orchestrations of Van Dyke Parks. Cruel Inventions, which was released in 1991, included a guest appearance from close friend Elvis Costello, and she (with her husband) supported Costello on his 1991 tour. 1994's Martinis and Bikinis was widely praised by music critics and was even nominated for a Grammy Award; this was Phillips' second nomination (the first was as Leslie Phillips).

In 1995, Phillips made her film debut in the Bruce Willis blockbuster Die Hard with a Vengeance, in which she played a mute terrorist. She was originally supposed to have a speaking part in the film; however, it was decided that her character would be silent, since it made her appear much more imposing and lethal, although it also placed her in a more stereotypically femme fatale role at the same time. In 1996, Phillips released Omnipop (It's Only a Flesh Wound Lambchop), which featured a song co-written by Phillips and R.E.M.. Phillips made a cameo in the 1997 Wim Wenders film The End of Violence, singing a brief snippet from the song "Animals on Wheels" from Omnipop. After releasing a contractually obligated "best of" album for Virgin in 1999, the label dropped Phillips from its roster.

In 2001, Phillips signed with Nonesuch Records and released a stripped-down acoustic album called Fan Dance, which featured some of the most critically acclaimed songwriting of Phillips's career. Van Dyke Parks contributed string arrangements for a track or two. Phillips also began writing music for and scoring the television series Gilmore Girls, and even appeared on screen during the final episode of season six, performing "Taking Pictures" from the Fan Dance album. In 2004, she released A Boot and a Shoe, another collection of acoustic cabaret songs in the same vein as Fan Dance.

After the release of A Boot and a Shoe, news spread that Phillips and husband/producer T-Bone Burnett had divorced, although they continued to work together to finish the album.

Phillips' latest album, Don't Do Anything, was released on June 3, 2008 and produced by Phillips. It is her first self-produced album and her first post-Myrrh album not to feature Burnett on any instruments, although he is credited in the thank-you section of the album credits. To promote her concert appearances, Phillips released extremely brief silent movies, made to resemble vintage Super-8 shorts, in which she held up signs indicating venue and date information. Her use of older forms of photography was also present in her tour poster imagery, composed of Polaroid snapshots.

In October 2009, Phillips launched "The Long Play", via www.samphillips.com, a year-long subscription program offering five EPs and a full-length album release to be recorded and released digitally through the coming year, and did this without a label. Subscribers may also view her signature silent movies, and other materials. The first EP in the series, Hypnotists in Paris, was recorded with the Section Quartet, followed by the Christmas collection "Cold Dark Night," "Magic For Everyone," "Old Tin Pan," and "Days of the One Night Stands," followed by the full length album "Cameras In The Sky" in early 2010. In Spring of 2011 she issued "Solid State," a CD release available to the general public comprising 13 songs taken from the 42 available through a "Long Play" subscription.

Discography

Albums

As Leslie Phillips

• Beyond Saturday Night (1983)
• Dancing with Danger (1984)
• Black and White in a Grey World (1985)
• The Turning (1987). Produced by T-Bone Burnett. Later reissued on CD and credited to Sam Phillips.
• Recollection (1987) A "best of" album, covering music from the Myrrh period. Features acoustic versions of "Your Kindness" and "No One But You" (available only on this CD) and the demo version of "Walls of Silence."

Studio Albums

• The Indescribable Wow (1989, Virgin Records) Produced by T-Bone Burnett.
• Cruel Inventions (1991, Virgin Records) Produced by T-Bone Burnett.
• Martinis and Bikinis (1994, Virgin Records) Produced by T-Bone Burnett, with one track co-produced by Colin Moulding.
• Omnipop (It's Only A Flesh Wound Lambchop) (1996, Virgin Records) Produced by T-Bone Burnett.
• Fan Dance (2001, Nonesuch Records) Produced by T-Bone Burnett.
• A Boot and a Shoe (2004, Nonesuch Records) Produced by T-Bone Burnett.
• Don't Do Anything (2008, Nonesuch Records) Produced by Sam Phillips.
• Cameras in the Sky (2011) Long Play Album

Digital EPs

• Hypnotists in Paris (2009, Eden Bridge Music) Produced by Sam Phillips. Download-only EP, the first release from the Long Play digital subscription program introduced by Sam Phillips in 2009.
• Cold Dark Night (2009) Produced by Sam Phillips. Download-only EP. The second Long Play release.
• Magic for Everybody (2010) Download-only EP. The third Long Play release and first to be available from other download services.
• Old Tin Pan (2010) Download-only EP. The fourth Long Play release.
• Days of the One Night Stands (2010) Download-only EP. The fifth and last Long Play EP.

Compilations

• Zero Zero Zero (1999, Virgin Records) A "best of" album, covering music from the Virgin period. Includes several alternate mixes and new recordings.

Compilation appearances

• Back to the Rock (1981) - "Bring Me Through" (this marks Phillips' first solo appearance on an album)
• Love Songs for Christian Couples - Vol. 1 (1985) - "Enough For Me"
• A Midnight Clear - soundtrack (1992) - "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear"
• Ready to Wear (Pret-a-porter) Soundtrack (1994) - "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'"
• Melrose Place: The Music (1994) - "Baby, I Can't Please You"
• Maranatha! Anthology: The Artists, 1971-2001 - "Bring Me Through"
• Gilmore Girls: Our Little Corner of the World (2002) - "Reflecting Light"
• Hear Music Volume 7: Waking (2002, Hear Music) - "Is That Your Zebra?"
• Crossing Jordan - soundtrack (2003) - "I Wanna Be Your Man"
• Crazy Heart - Soundtrack (2009) - "Reflecting Light"

Appearances on other artist's albums

• Stop the Dominoes (1981) Mark Heard, backing vocals
• Victims of the Age (1982) Mark Heard, backing vocals
• Dry Bones Dance (1990) Mark Heard, backing vocals
• Side By Side (1983) The Imperials, backing vocals on "Make My Heart Your Home"
• Equator (1983) Randy Stonehill, backing vocals
• Life Is Messy (1992) Rodney Crowell, backing vocals on "Let's Make Trouble"
• Bringing Down the Horse (1996) The Wallflowers, backing vocals on "Invisible City" and "Laughing Out Loud"

Singles

Year	Title	Chart positions				Album
		US Hot 100	US Modern Rock	US Mainstream Rock	UK
1989	"Holding on to the Earth"	-	22	-	-	The Indescribable Wow
1994	"Baby I Can't Please You"	-	-	-	-	Martinis & Bikinis

External links

• Sam Phillips Official Page
• Sam Phillips at the Internet Movie Database
• Sam Phillips News Group