Leslie Ann "Sam" Phillips (born January 28, 1962), is an American singer, songwriter and an actor. Her albums include the critically acclaimed Martinis & Bikinis in 1994 and Fan Dance in 2001. She has also composed scores for the television shows Gilmore Girls, Bunheads, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
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Early life
Phillips was born in Glendale, California to parents William and Peggy Phillips. She is the second of three children and has a brother and a sister. She was given the nickname Sam, which would later become her stage name.
Phillips started singing at a young age, along with dancing, painting, and playing the piano. Phillips also started studying philosophy and fundamentalism at the age of 14. Phillips began writing songs as a teenager to cope with her parents' divorce.
Career
Phillips began her musical career in the early 1980s in the contemporary Christian music industry, where she sang background vocals for Christian artists Mark Heard and Randy Stonehill.
Phillips was signed as a solo artist with Myrrh Records under her given name and recorded four Christian pop albums: Beyond Saturday Night, Dancing with Danger, Black and White in a Grey World, and The Turning. The Turning teamed her with producer T Bone Burnett, who had worked with artists Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, and Roy Orbison. The two would later get married.
Several of Phillips' songs became Top 10 singles on Christian radio and Myrrh Records promoted her as "the Christian Cyndi Lauper". Phillips was never comfortable with this image, and it was a bone of contention between her and her label. She began using the name "Sam" professionally in 1988 when she left Myrrh Records and signed with Virgin Records in order to distance herself from her prior persona.
With The Indescribable Wow, Philips moved into mainstream music. The album featured the orchestrations of Van Dyke Parks and took influence from 1960's pop. Cruel Inventions was released in 1991, and included a guest performance by Elvis Costello. 1994's Martinis and Bikinis was widely praised by music critics and was nominated for a Grammy Award, her second nomination (the first was as Leslie Phillips).
In 1995, Phillips made her film acting debut as the mute terrorist Katya in the Bruce Willis blockbuster Die Hard with a Vengeance. In 1996, Phillips released Omnipop (It's Only a Flesh Wound Lambchop), which featured a song co-written by R.E.M. Phillips made a cameo appearance in the 1997 Wim Wenders film The End of Violence, singing part of the song "Animals on Wheels" from Omnipop. After releasing a contractually obligated "best of" album in 1999, Virgin Records dropped Phillips from its roster.
In 2001, Phillips signed with Nonesuch Records, evolving her musical style to a stripped-down, acoustically based sound on her album called Fan Dance, as well as guest appearances from musical partners Gillian Welch on vocals and David Rawlings on piano, for whom T Bone Burnett had produced several years earlier. Phillips also began writing music for and scoring the television series Gilmore Girls, and appeared in the final episode of season six, performing "Taking Pictures" from her Fan Dance album. In 2004, she released A Boot and a Shoe, another collection of acoustically based songs, similar in style to Fan Dance. In 2006 she was ranked at No. 94 on Paste magazine's list of the top 100 living songwriters.
Personal life
In 1989, Phillips married producer and musician T-Bone Burnett. Phillips and Burnett divorced in 2004; both have since remarried, Phillips to Eric Gorfain.
Selected awards
1985: Grammy Award for Best Gospel Vocal Performance, Female (nominee) for Black and White in a Grey World – as Leslie Phillips
1994: Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance (nominee) for "Circle of Fire" from Martinis & Bikinis – as Sam Phillips
2011: Image, Denise Levertov Award
Discography
Albums
1983: Beyond Saturday Night (Myrrh)
1984: Dancing with Danger (Myrrh)
1985: Black and White in a Grey World (Myrrh)
1987: The Turning (Myrrh)
1988: The Indescribable Wow (Virgin)
1991: Cruel Inventions (Virgin)
1994: Martinis & Bikinis (Virgin)
1996: Omnipop (It's Only a Flesh Wound Lambchop) (Virgin)
2001: Fan Dance (Nonesuch)
2004: A Boot and a Shoe (Nonesuch)
2008: Don't Do Anything (Nonesuch)
2011: Cameras in the Sky (Littlebox)
2011: Solid State (Littlebox)
2013: Push Any Button (Littlebox)
2018: World on Sticks (Littlebox)
2019: Cold Dark Nights (Littlebox)
2025: Gilmore Girls - Soundtrack from the Original Series (Mutant)
Digital EPs
2009: Hypnotists in Paris
2009: Cold Dark Night
2010: Magic for Everybody
2010: Old Tin Pan
2010: Days of the One Night Stands
2016: Human Contact is Never Easy
Compilations
1987: Recollection (Myrrh)
2007: The Definitive Collection (Myrrh)
1998: Zero Zero Zero (Virgin)
2008: The Disappearing Act 1987–1998 (Raven)
Compilation appearances
1981: Back to the Rock – "Bring Me Through" (Leslie Phillips)
1985: The Wedding Album Vol. 2 – "Enough for Me" (Leslie Phillips) - also recompiled in 1988 on Love Songs for Christian Couples
1986: Not Gonna Bow – "Black and White in a Grey World" (as Leslie Phillips)
1992: A Midnight Clear (soundtrack) – "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear"
1994: Prêt-à-Porter (Music From The Motion Picture) – "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'"
1994: Melrose Place: The Music – "Baby, I Can't Please You"
2002: Maranatha! Anthology: The Artists, 1971–2001 – "Bring Me Through" (Leslie Phillips)
2002: Our Little Corner of the World: Music from Gilmore Girls – "Tell Her What She Wants to Know"
2002: Hear Music Volume 7: Waking – "Is That Your Zebra?"
2003: Music from the NBC Television Series Crossing Jordan – "I Wanna Be Your Man"
2009: Crazy Heart - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack – "Reflecting Light"
2011: Kings & Queens (with Blackie and the Rodeo Kings) – "Love Lay Me Down"
2014: Live From High Fidelity: The Best Of The Podcast Performances – "Can't See Straight" (also on the LP: Rhett Miller covering her song "Broken Circle")
As guest
1981: Stop the Dominoes by Mark Heard – backing vocals
1982: Victims of the Age by Mark Heard – backing vocals
1983: Side By Side by The Imperials – guest vocals on "Make My Heart Your Home"
1983; Equator by Randy Stonehill – backing vocals
1990: Dry Bones Dance by Mark Heard – backing vocals
1991: Nothing but a Burning Light by Bruce Cockburn – backing vocals on "Great Big Love"
1992: Life Is Messy by Rodney Crowell – backing vocals on "Let's Make Trouble"
1992: Satellite Sky by Mark Heard – backing vocals
1993: Christmas by Bruce Cockburn - arr. and backing vocals on "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear"
1996: Bringing Down the Horse by The Wallflowers – backing vocals on "Invisible City" and "Laughing Out Loud"
2015: Airless Midnight by Eszter Balint – backing vocals on "The Mother" and "Exit at 63"
Selected collaborations
2009: Raising Sand by Alison Krauss and Robert Plant – featured Phillips' song “Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us” which originally appeared on Don't Do Anything – the record won Grammy Award for Record of the Year
2018: She Remembers Everything by Rosanne Cash – co-wrote title track
Singles
As Leslie Phillips
As Sam Phillips
Composer of television music
2000–2007: Gilmore Girls (153 episodes)
2012–2013: Bunheads (18 episodes)
2017–2019: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (19 episodes)
Selected filmography
1993: Ruby in Paradise – opening credits song, "Raised on Promises"
1995: Die Hard with a Vengeance – as Katya
1997: The End of Violence – as a singer
2006: Gilmore Girls – as a troubadour
