Phyllis Nelson

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Phyllis Nelson (3 October 1950 - 12 January 1998), was an American singer.

Career

Nelson was born in Indiana. She worked and recorded for several years from the late 1970s into the mid 1980s without achieving much success. Her records were usually dance tracks, and she had also recorded quite a number of records during the disco era. In 1985 she recorded a self written ballad entitled "Move Closer". It was a complete departure from the type of music she had been recording.

The lyrics of "Move Closer" were based on a long term love affair she had, with a much younger white Jewish man in Philadelphia, who was struggling to start his own computer business.^{[citation needed]} They lived together for several years, raising together Nelson's two children (Marc and Kenya), that she had borne earlier by two different men.

While "Move Closer" failed to find an audience in her home country, it reached number one on the UK Singles Chart in early May 1985, making her the first black woman to top that chart with a self-composed offering.^{[citation needed]} The song remained on the chart for almost six months, and became one of the highest selling singles of the year. But her subsequent releases failed to make any impression, and she is remembered as a one-hit wonder.

In the United States, Nelson had success on the Hot Dance Club Play chart, where her song entitled "I Like You" peaked at number one in 1985. "I Like You" reached the no. 29 in the french dance charts.

"Move Closer" returned to the UK chart in 1994, reaching the Top 40, after being featured in a television commercial for anti-perspirant. Nelson died from breast cancer in Los Angeles. She had been living there at the time of her death, and was also divorced. She was 47 years old.

Discography

Albums

Singles

See also

• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
• List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
• List of performers on Top of the Pops

References

Links

• http://lnt.thiebaut.free.fr/arschu/hits/wrtl/WRTL86-04.htm