b. Phillip John Flowers, 28th January 1934, Longwood, North Carolina, U.S.A.
d. 22nd January 2001, Rockville, Maryland, U.S.A.
Phillip John Flowers was a Washington area singer and composer who performed in the United States and abroad since the 1950's.
He recorded singles on the Hollywood label, during the late Fifties, under the name of Phil Flowers And The Batmen.
These included the tunes 'Honey Chile', 'What It Means To Be Blue' and 'Lover Man'.
Phil recorded several albums in the sixties notably 'Our Man In Washington', 'Rhythm And Blues', 'I Am The Greatest' and 'Phil Flowers Sings A Tribute To Nat King Cole'.
Some of his single releases included 'Discontented', Where Did I Go Wrong?' ( both popular on the Northern Soul scene), 'Cleopatra, You Little Devil', 'I Saw Her Standing There', 'Man The Wife And The Little Baby', 'Nothing Lasts Forever', 'Like A Rolling Stone', 'Bingo, What Did I Do', 'Walking At Night' and 'Son Of Mine'.
He was also described as 'The Black Elvis' and 'Skip Manning'.
He was a member of the group Jebadiah and worked with Link Wray and Barry Darvell.
Phil, and his group 'The Flower Shop', toured the U.S. in the late sixties and were involved in calming the race riots that followed Reverend Martin Luther King's assassination.
Those of you who listen to, London and Manchester based, deejays such as Robbie Vincent, Richard Searling and Bob Jones, will be aware of a 12" single on Future Records (from the late Eighties) entitled 'Stay A While'.
The track was produced by Phil, Al Johnson and Chuck Brown.
The song was a fine independent release that was manufactured in very small quantities boasting some fine production input from the great Al Johnson.
Phil, additionally, performed live with his family, as site visitor Jim Wall from Ireland told me:
'In March 1974 my wife and I were in Syracuse NY on our honeymoon and we went to a club where Phil Flowers and his united family were performing and we had a wonderful night. We met Phil and his family and they signed their current album for us. I really enjoyed their music.'
Phil Flowers died of cancer on 22nd January 2001 at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital, after collapsing at his home in Rockville.
He was 66 years old.
Albums:
Rhythm & Blues (Mt. Vernon 1965)
I Am the Greatest (Guest Star 1966)
Phil Flowers Sings a Tribute To Nat King Cole (1967)
Our Man in Washington (Dot 1968)
