Phyllis Hyman

Personal life Hyman was married once, to Larry Alexander, who served as her music arranger from 1977 until they divorced in 1982. She had no children.

Hyman was the cousin of actor Earle Hyman, known for his recurring role on The Cosby Show as Cliff's father, Russell Huxtable, and as Panthro on the popular 1980s cartoon Thundercats.

Posthumous releases In November 1995, five months after her death, Hyman's album I Refuse to Be Lonely was released.

In April 1998, a posthumous compilation album, One on One was released with three of her earliest solo sides and nine collaborations including "Take the 'A' Train" with Gregory Hines, "Maybe Tomorrow" with the Four Tops, and "Betcha by Golly, Wow" with Norman Connors. contains love songs, torch songs, bitter-sweet ballads, smooth jazz offerings and uptempo tracks, most of which showcase Hyman's' usual interpretation of heartbreak and strife. Hyman was quoted as saying that these songs were about "relationships gone bad!" Much of the material on this album was initially intended for her Living All Alone release. The song "Funny How Love Goes" contains a posthumous "duet" featuring vocalist Damon Williams. Half of Hyman's vocals were re-recorded with both singers alternating vocals and providing Williams with exposure. The UK label Expansion released a jazz-soul orientated compilation in 2003 called In Between the Heartaches, which featured cuts from her collaborations with Norman Connors, McCoy Tyner, Jon Lucien and Pharoah Sanders. It also included five unreleased tracks from her period with Arista records.

In September 2007, an authorized biography was released. Entitled Strength of a Woman: The Phyllis Hyman Story, the book is written by Jason A. Michael in cooperation with the Estate of Phyllis Hyman. The book mentions Hyman's relationships with men and one woman. In 2008, an original version of the James Bond theme "Never Say Never Again", which was not used in the film due to contractual issues, was released by the track's co-writer Stephen Forsythe.

Awards and nominations

Year Organisation Category Work Result Ref. 1977 Rock Music Awards Best New Female Vocalist Herself 1979 Billboard Top Overall Female Artists Herself No. 40

Discography

Studio albums Phyllis Hyman (1977) Sing a Song (1978) Somewhere in My Lifetime (1978) You Know How to Love Me (1979) Can't We Fall in Love Again? (1981) Goddess of Love (1983) Living All Alone (1986) Prime of My Life (1991) I Refuse to Be Lonely (1995) Forever with You (1998)

Filmography Lenny (1974) Too Scared to Scream (1985) School Daze (1988) Soda Cracker (1989)