Yvonne Elliman

Yvonne Elliman
Elliman on tour with Eric Clapton, San Bernardino, California, August 15, 1975
Background information
Birth name	Yvonne Marianne Elliman
Born	December 29, 1951 (1951-12-29)
Origin	Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Genres	Broadway, disco, pop
Occupations	Vocalist, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, Piano
Years active	1970–2004
Labels	Polydor Records, Umgd Records, Umvd Import, Polygram Records, Taragon Records
Associated acts	Eric Clapton, Bee Gees
Website	Yvonne Elliman.com

Yvonne Marianne Elliman (born December 29, 1951) is an American singer who performed for four years in the first cast of Jesus Christ Superstar. She scored a number of hits in the 1970s and achieved a #1 hit with "If I Can't Have You." After a long hiatus in the 80s and 90s, during which time she dedicated herself to her family, she made a comeback album as a singer-songwriter in 2004.

Biography

Early years

Elliman's father was of Irish descent, and her mother shared Japanese and Chinese ancestries. She was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, and graduated from President Theodore Roosevelt High School in 1970. Her father taught her how to play the piano. She played in the high-school band, and after graduation she moved to London.

London years, Jesus Christ Superstar

Elliman's singing career began in 1969 in London where she performed as a singer at various bars and clubs. At the time she did not like what she was singing and was singing for the money. She was doing drugs and liked the music of the Jefferson Airplane. An unknown, she was discovered by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, who asked her to sing Mary Magdalene's part in Jesus Christ Superstar, and later invited her to join the traveling cast, which she did for four years. This performance led to a 1974 Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy for the film version of "Jesus Christ Superstar". She had her first hit single in 1971 with the ballad "I Don't Know How to Love Him", from Jesus Christ Superstar. The song was her first entry on the U.S. charts, peaking at #28 pop in 1971, although a cover version by Helen Reddy was a bigger hit. In the end, she sang Jesus Christ Superstar on the 1970 concept album, in the original Broadway cast (1971), and on the 1973 film soundtrack.

New York and disco

In 1971 Elliman moved to New York City for the Broadway production of Jesus Christ, Superstar, where she met Bill Oakes, who worked with Robert Stigwood. They got married soon after, and she was asked to sing backing vocals on Eric Clapton's version of the Bob Marley song "I Shot the Sheriff" in 1974. She went on tour with Clapton, and afterward got her own recording contract with Stigwood's RSO Records. A first album for the label (her third in all), Rising Sun, produced by Steve Cropper, produced no hit singles, but her next album, Love Me, produced by Freddie Perren, gave her two top-20 hits, "Love Me" (written by Barry and Robin Gibb), and a Barbara Lewis cover, "Hello Stranger." "Hello Stranger" topped the U.S. Adult Contemporary charts for four weeks, and was also a #15 Pop hit in 1977, while "Love Me" was a #14 Pop hit in late 1976/early 1977.

In 1977, the Bee Gees were working on Saturday Night Fever and wrote "How Deep Is Your Love" for her, but Stigwood wanted the Bee Gees to perform it. Instead, she sang "If I Can't Have You." The song was a big hit, rising to #1 in the Billboard Hot 100; it is often hailed as the best singing performance of her career.

Also in 1977, Elliman performed on Eric Clapton's Slowhand album.

A few minor Top 40 hits followed in 1979, including the title theme song from the film Moment by Moment and another disco track, "Love Pains," which was a major club success. She appeared in a two-part episode of the television action series Hawaii Five-O during this period as an aspiring singer, performing the song "I Can't Get You Out of my Mind" with co-star James Darren. The single "Savannah" was also a minor hit, but shortly thereafter she decided to dedicate herself to her growing family of two children.

Return

After a considerable hiatus, Elliman reappeared on the music scene. An album titled Simple Needs, with all songs written by Elliman, was released in 2004 and re-released globally on June 12, 2007. Elliman has continued performing in music festivals, benefits and concerts throughout the country and around the world. She also Performed on A PBS special 70's soul superstars in 2004 and sang her #1 hit If I Can't have you.

Discography

Albums

Year	Album	U.S. Billboard 200
1972	Yvonne Elliman
1973	Food of Love
1975	Rising Sun
1977	Love Me	68
1978	Night Flight	40
1979	Yvonne	174
1995	The Very Best of Yvonne Elliman
1997	The Best of Yvonne Elliman
1999	If I Can't Have You
	Yvonne Elliman
2001	The Collection
2004	Simple Needs
	20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Yvonne Elliman

Charted singles

Year	Single	Chart peaks	Year	Single	Chart peaks
1971	"I Don't Know How to Love Him"	#28 [#30] #47 #72 #20 1973:#21	1977	"I Can't Get You Out of My Mind"	#17
	"Everything's Alright"	#92[#95] #100	1978	"If I Can't Have You"	#1[#1] #4 #9 #1 #20 #31 #6
1975	"Walk Right In"	#109	1978-79	"Moment By Moment"	#59[-]
1976	"Love Me"	#14[#10] #6 #15 #11 #9 #16 #3 #3	1979	"Love Pains"	#34 [#53] #22
1977	"Hello Stranger"	#15[#14] #26 #13 #20 #12	1980	"Your Precious Love" w/Stephen Bishop	#105

• US chart stats are taken from both Billboard - either from the Hot 100 or Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart - and the Cash Box Top 100 Singles chart. The Cash Box stats are given in brackets, i.e. [ ].
• The following singles all appeared on the Billboard Easy Listening/ Adult Contemporary chart: "I Don't Know How to Love Him" (#15), "Everything's Alright" (#25), "Love Me" (#5), "Hello Stranger" (#1), "I Can't Get You Outa My Mind" (#19), "If I Can't Have You" (#9), "Moment By Moment" (#32) and "Love Pains" (#34).
• The following singles appeared on the Billboard R&B chart: "Hello Stranger" (#57), "If I Can't Have You" (#60).
• The following singles appeared on the Billboard Club chart: "If I Can't Have You" (#11), "Love Pains" (#75).

Soundtracks

• "I Don't Know How to Love Him" (1971) Jesus Christ Superstar (album)
• "Everything' Alright" (1971) Jesus Christ Superstar (album)
• "If I Can't Have You" (1977) - U.S.: Pop #1, AC #9, Dance #11; UK #4 - Saturday Night Fever soundtrack
• "Moment By Moment" (1978) - (title song from the movie) U.S.: Pop #59, AC #32
• "Your Precious Love (1980) (duet with Stephen Bishop) - Roadie soundtrack - U.S.: Bubbling Under #105
• "Edge of the World" (1983) - WarGames soundtrack

See also

• List of number-one hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)

External links

• Official Yvonne Elliman site
• Yvonne Elliman at the Internet Movie Database