Hyman, Phyliss

Published: Sunday, July 2, 1995

Pyllis Hyman, a New York jazz singer whose most recent hits included "When You Get Right Down to It" and "Living in Confusion," died yesterday afternoon in Manhattan, a possible suicide, the police said. She was 45.

An assistant to Ms. Hyman found the singer unconscious in her bedroom at 211 West 56th Street around 2 P.M., said Detective Dwight Cunningham, a police spokesman. She died at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center at 3:50 P.M., hours before she was scheduled to perform at the Apollo Theater in Harlem.

The police found pills and a note, the detective said. The police did not disclose the contents of the note.

Ms. Hyman, a legal secretary who sang jazz and rhythm and blues and recently performed rap, had a starring role in "Sophisticated Ladies," a Broadway musical that paid tribute to Duke Ellington.

A version of this obituary; biography appeared in print on Sunday, July 2, 1995, on section 1 page 32 of the New York edition.

Phyliss Hyman at Find a Grave

Image by Brenda Wood at Find a Grave

Birth: Jul. 6, 1949 Chester County, USA Death: Jun. 30, 1995, USA

Singer. A talented singer of the 1970s through the 1990s, her best known songs were "Meet Me On The Moon," "Living All Alone," and "Don't Want To Change The World." (bio by: Brenda Woods)

Burial: Cremated, Ashes given to family or friend.

Maintained by: Find A Grave Record added: Feb 06, 2002 Find A Grave Memorial# 6159586

The New Pittsburgh Courer online article Phyliss Hyman is inducted into the Carrick Alumni Walk of Fame October 31, 2009

Photo from The New Pittsburgh Courier online article

"Attending the event were two of Hyman’s siblings, sisters Ann and Jeannie Hyman. Although it has been 17 years since their sister’s death, they remember their older sister as a leader, both in life and within the family. “She liked to be in charge,” stated Ann enthusiastically, “never afraid to speak on her ideas…the typical big sister.”

"Both sisters describe Phyllis as a “popular student…an extrovert who loved school.” Jeannie stated her sister’s “talent was always evident.” Leaving home at the early age of 19 to follow her dreams, Hyman’s memory continues to live in the hearts of the six remaining siblings. With a broad smile and an assured confidence, Ann related her sister’s soulful spirit to “the baptism of fire…” Anyone who has ever listened to the voice of Phyllis Linda Hyman would agree that the fire was extinguished all too soon."