Sam Phillips (singer)

:For the person of the same name who founded Sun Records, see Sam Phillips

Related Topics:
Sun Records - Sam Phillips

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

Related Topics:
January 28 - 1962 - American - Singer - Songwriter

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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.

Related Topics:
Glendale - California - 1980s - Mark Heard - Randy Stonehill - Myrrh Records - T-Bone Burnett

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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.

Related Topics:
Myrrh Records - Virgin Records - Brian Wilson - Van Dyke Parks - Elvis Costello - 1994 - Grammy Award - Rob Wasserman - Carnie Wilson

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In 1995, Phillips made her silver screen debut in the Bruce Willis blockbuster Die Hard With a Vengeance, where she played a terrorist. (She was originally supposed to have a speaking part in the film but it was decided that her character would be silent, since it made her appear much more imposing and lethal.)

Related Topics:
1995 - Bruce Willis - Die Hard With a Vengeance

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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.

Related Topics:
1996 - REM

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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.

Related Topics:
2001 - Gilmore Girls

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In 2004, she released A Boot and a Shoe.

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