Yvonne Elliman | |
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![]() Elliman on tour with Eric Clapton in San Bernardino, California, August 15, 1975 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Yvonne Marianne Elliman |
Born | Honolulu, Hawaii Territory, U.S. | December 29, 1951
Genres | Broadway, disco, Rock, pop |
Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, actress |
Instrument(s) | Vocals, piano, guitar |
Years active | 1969–1980, 2004–present [1] |
Labels | Purple Records, RSO Records, Polydor Records, Umgd Records, Umvd Import, Polygram Records, Taragon Records |
Yvonne Marianne Elliman (born December 29, 1951) [1] is an American singer, songwriter, and actress who performed for four years in the first cast of the stage musical Jesus Christ Superstar . She scored a number of hits in the 1970s and achieved a US #1 hit with "If I Can't Have You". The song also reached #9 on the Adult Contemporary chart and number 4 in the UK Chart. Her cover of Barbara Lewis's "Hello Stranger" went to #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and "Love Me" was #5; at the time she had 3 top 10 singles. After a long hiatus in the 1980s and 1990s, during which time she left music to be with her family, she made a comeback album as a singer-songwriter in 2004.
Elliman was born and raised in the Manoa neighborhood of Honolulu, Hawaii. Her mother was of Japanese and Chinese ancestries [2] and her father, a salesman for Best Foods, was of Irish descent. [3] Elliman showed interest in music from an early age, playing the ukulele by age four and taking piano lessons at age seven. While attending President Theodore Roosevelt High School, Elliman performed in the school band on standup bass and violin. However, she became most proficient on the guitar and performed as a singer and guitarist in a folk music band named We Folk, which she formed with schoolmates. The band fared well competing in local talent shows. [4] [5]
According to Elliman, she was truant during her senior year at high school but graduated owing to the intervention of Peter Wilcox, the school's British-born band teacher, who persuaded her teachers to allow her to pass. He encouraged 17-year-old Elliman to relocate to London and pursue a musical career, which she did shortly after graduating. [6] [7]
Elliman's singing career began in 1969 in London, performing in bars and clubs. At the time she did not like what she was singing. "I hated the music then", she recalled in a 1973 interview, [8] adding, "I did it for the bread. I was into drugs and all that, and thought Grace Slick and the Jefferson Airplane was it". While still an unknown, [9] she was discovered by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, who asked her to sing Mary Magdalene's part for the original audio recording of Jesus Christ Superstar. Ian Gillan was featured singing as Jesus. After its release as an album in 1970, they invited her to join the stage show's traveling cast, which she did for four years. [7]
She had her first Billboard Hot 100 hit single in 1971 with the ballad "I Don't Know How to Love Him" from Jesus Christ Superstar. Her original version was not issued as a single until a cover version by Helen Reddy started moving up the U.S. charts; appearing concurrently on the charts (a rare event, not common since the 1950s, when different releases played in different parts of the United States), Elliman's original peaked at #28, while Reddy's cover peaked at #13. [1] In the end Elliman performed on the 1970 concept album, in the original Broadway cast (1971), and in the 1973 film. [10] She and Barry Dennen were the only cast members that performed on the original record, original Broadway production, and the film. [8] Her performance in the film as Mary Magdalene led to her being nominated for a 1974 Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Comedy or Musical. [1]
In 1971, aged 19, Elliman moved to New York City for the Broadway production of Jesus Christ, Superstar, where she met her first husband, [11] Bill Oakes, who was president of Robert Stigwood's RSO Records. Before moving she was signed to Purple Records, singing on Jon Lord's album Gemini Suite in 1971 and releasing her second solo album Food of Love in 1973. She was asked to sing backing vocals on Eric Clapton's version of the Bob Marley song "I Shot the Sheriff" in 1974. She then went on tour as part of Clapton's band, and soon afterwards got her own recording contract with RSO Records. She continued to work with Clapton, performing on his albums from 1974-77, including 461 Ocean Boulevard , There's One in Every Crowd , E. C. Was Here , No Reason to Cry , and Slowhand . A first album for the RSO 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 song, "Hello Stranger". [7] "Hello Stranger" topped the U.S. Easy Listening chart for four weeks, and was also a No. 15 pop hit in 1977; "Love Me" was a No. 14 pop hit in late 1976/early 1977. [1]
Also 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". [12] The song became a number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100; [1] it is generally considered the high point of her recording career. [13]
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 Hawaii Five-O in a two-part episode ("Number One with a Bullet", 1978) as an aspiring singer, performing the song "I Can't Get You Outa My Mind" with fellow guest performer James Darren. The single "Savannah" was also a minor hit.
After spending a decade pursuing her career, Elliman went on hiatus; she had two children at home. [2]
In 2004, Elliman released the album Simple Needs, for which she wrote all the songs.
Elliman has continued performing at music festivals, benefits, and concerts. She performed on a PBS special on 1970s soul music in 2004, singing "If I Can't Have You." In 2014 she reunited with Neeley and Dennen in Verona for a special Jesus Christ Superstar event. [14] She is featured on the 2014 Neeley EP Rock Opera performing a duet with him on "Up Where We Belong". In summer 2018 she joined in 45th anniversary Superstar film screenings events in Los Angeles. [15]
Elliman was married to RSO Records executive Bill Oakes from 1972 to 1980. [16] She married songwriter Wade Hyman in 1981 [17] and they had two children, Sage (born in 1982) and Ben (born in 1986). [2] They later separated and divorced. She married Allen Alexander in January 2016. [18]
On August 16, 2017, Elliman was slated to sing for a Catholic school charity in Guam when she was stopped by customs for possession of marijuana and methamphetamine. After spending a night in jail, she and her husband pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance, continued with the planned concert, and were allowed to return to Hawaii on probation until their March 2018 sentencing. They were ordered to perform community service and serve the remainder of a two-week sentence, Billboard magazine said, "by observing courtroom proceedings of a drug offender probation program in Honolulu." [19] [20] [21]
Jesus Christ Superstar is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with much of the plot centered on Judas, who is dissatisfied with the direction in which Jesus is steering his disciples. Contemporary attitudes, sensibilities and slang pervade the rock opera's lyrics, and ironic allusions to modern life are scattered throughout the depiction of political events. Stage and film productions accordingly contain many intentional anachronisms.
461 Ocean Boulevard is the second solo studio album by English musician Eric Clapton. It was released in late July 1974 by RSO Records, after the record company released the hit single "I Shot the Sheriff" earlier in the month. The album topped various international charts and sold more than two million copies.
Carlton Earl "Carl" Anderson was an American singer, film and theater actor best known for his portrayal of Judas Iscariot in the Broadway and film versions of the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. Anderson and singer-actress Gloria Loring performed the duet "Friends and Lovers", which reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1986.
Rita Coolidge is an American recording artist. During the 1970s and 1980s, her songs were on Billboard magazine's pop, country, adult contemporary, and jazz charts, and she won two Grammy Awards with fellow musician and then-husband Kris Kristofferson. Her recordings include "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher," "We're All Alone", "I'd Rather Leave While I'm in Love", and the theme song for the 1983 James Bond film Octopussy: "All Time High".
Robert Colin Stigwood was an Australian-born British-resident music entrepreneur, film producer and impresario, best known for managing Cream, Andy Gibb and the Bee Gees, theatrical productions like Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar, and film productions including the successful Grease and Saturday Night Fever. On his death, one obituary judged that he had been for a time the most powerful tycoon in the entertainment industry: "Stigwood owned the record label that issued his artists’ albums and film soundtracks, and he also controlled publishing rights – not since Hollywood's golden days had so much power and wealth been concentrated in the hands of one mogul."
Teddie Joe Neeley is an American singer, actor, musician, composer, and record producer. He is known for portraying the title role in Jesus Christ Superstar (1973), a role for which he was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and has reprised numerous times.
RSO Records was a record label formed by rock and roll and musical theatre impresario Robert Stigwood and record executive Al Coury in 1973. The letters "RSO" stood for the Robert Stigwood Organisation.
Syreeta Wright, who recorded professionally under the mononym Syreeta, was an American singer-songwriter, best known for her music during the early 1970s through the early 1980s. Wright's career heights were songs in collaboration with her ex-husband Stevie Wonder and musical artist Billy Preston.
Earl Stephen Bishop is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and guitarist. His biggest hits include "On and On", "It Might Be You", and "Save It for a Rainy Day". He contributed musically and appeared in many motion pictures including National Lampoon's Animal House.
"Wonderful Tonight" is a ballad written by Eric Clapton. It was included on Clapton's 1977 album Slowhand which is his most popular album. Clapton wrote the song on his 1974 Martin D-28 guitar about Pattie Boyd. The female vocal harmonies on the song are provided by Marcella Detroit and Yvonne Elliman. The song is his most popular download on Spotify with more than 480,000,000 streams.
"Everything's Alright" is a song from the 1970 album and 1971 rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. It is about the anointing of Jesus.
"If I Can't Have You" is a disco song written by the Bee Gees in 1977. The song initially appeared on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack in a version by Yvonne Elliman, released in November 1977. The Bee Gees' own version appeared a month later as the B-side of "Stayin' Alive".
Jesus Christ Superstar is a 1970 album musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, on which the 1971 rock opera of the same name was based. Initially unable to get backing for a stage production, the composers released it as an album, the success of which led to stage productions. The album musical is a musical dramatisation of the last week of the life of Jesus Christ, beginning with his entry into Jerusalem and ending with the Crucifixion. It was originally banned by the BBC on grounds of being "sacrilegious". By 1983, the album had sold over seven million copies worldwide.
"I Don't Know How to Love Him" is a song from the 1970 album and 1971 rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar written by Andrew Lloyd Webber (music) and Tim Rice (lyrics), a torch ballad sung by the character of Mary Magdalene. In the opera she is presented as bearing an unrequited love for the title character. The song has been much recorded, with "I Don't Know How to Love Him" being one of the rare songs to have had two concurrent recordings reach the top 40 of the Hot 100 chart in Billboard magazine, specifically those by Helen Reddy and Yvonne Elliman, since the 1950s when multi-version chartings were common.
"(Love Is) Thicker Than Water" is a song performed by Andy Gibb, released in September 1977 as the second and final single by RSO Records from his debut album, Flowing Rivers (1977). The song was his second single that topped the US Billboard Hot 100. It was mainly written by Barry Gibb, with help from Andy Gibb and produced by Gibb-Galuten-Richardson. The B-side of this song was "Words and Music" in the US, but "Flowing Rivers" in the UK. It became a gold record.
Jesus Christ Superstar is a 1973 American musical drama film directed by Norman Jewison, and co-written by Jewison and Melvyn Bragg, based on the 1970 concept album of the same name written by Tim Rice and composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, which in turn inspired a 1971 musical. The film, which stars Ted Neeley, Carl Anderson, Yvonne Elliman and Barry Dennen, depicts the conflict between Judas and Jesus and the emotions and motivations of the main characters during the week of the crucifixion of Jesus.
"Love Pains" is a dance song written by Michael Price, Dan Walsh and Steve Barri. It was originally recorded by Yvonne Elliman in 1979. Both Hazell Dean and Liza Minnelli covered it and had hits in 1989 and 1990 respectively with their versions. There have also been many other cover versions of this song.
"Can't Find My Way Home" is a song written by Steve Winwood that was first released by Blind Faith on their 1969 album Blind Faith. The song was also issued as a single B-side in some countries in 1969 and as an A-side, on the RSO label in the United States, in 1977.
The Premiere Collection: The Best of Andrew Lloyd Webber is a 1988 compilation album, bringing together some of composer Andrew Lloyd Webber's best known compositions at the time of release. It includes songs from the musicals The Phantom of the Opera, Tell Me on a Sunday, Evita, Cats, Jesus Christ Superstar, Starlight Express and Requiem. Co-writers of the songs include Tim Rice, Don Black, Richard Stilgoe, Charles Hart and Trevor Nunn.
Food of Love is a 1973 album by Yvonne Elliman, produced by Rupert Hine, released on Purple Records in England and MCA Records in America.