Esther Phillips recorded “Try Me” as a single in 1966 for Atlantic Records and “Fever” was the b-side. The song was written by Buddy Scott and Jimmy Radcliffe and is not the “Try Me” recorded and written by James Brown. Phillips was in her comeback era when she recorded “Try Me” for Atlantic. Johnny Otis gave two different stories on how he discovered her. In his book, Listen To The Lambs, he claimed he found her singing in a talent show at the Largo Theater in Watts, California. He told Jet magazine he had discovered her as one of the teenagers that caught chickens for his chicken ranch. One day while they were on break at the ranch, he was shocked to find out she could sing Dinah Washington’s records. She started her career as Little Esther and she saw the release of her first record, “I Gotta Guy,” in 1950 when she was 13 years old.
As Little Esther, she had several hit records during the ’50s, including “Double Crossing Blues” with the Johnny Otis Orchestra on Savoy Records. When she left Otis and signed with Federal, her fortunes changed, and she stopped having hits. Kenny Rogers got her a deal with his brother Lelan’s Lenox Records. In 1962, Phillips went to number one with Release Me” on the Lenox imprint. Atlantic bought her contract from Lenox in 1964 and she recorded a total of four albums for the label. “Try Me” was a single released in December of 1966. Phillips’ haunting vibrato and perfectly controlled turbulent emotion gave a mesmerizing performance elevated by King Curtis’ saxophone. “Try Me” didn’t chart but Phillips got to showcase her vocal power and versatility by venturing into pop. She continued to make records until her passing in 1984 leaving behind some of the best but lesser-known blues, jazz, soul, and country records.
She continued to record until her passing in 1984. “Try Me” found new audiences in the 2020s because of its placement in the Netflix series Obsession and the Hulu film, The Estate. Younger fans of country music are discovering her 1966 album, The Country Side Of Esther. In 2023, she was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.
