Yvonne Marianne Elliman (born December 29, 1951) and her father, a salesman for Best Foods, was of Irish descent. Elliman showed interest in music from an early age, playing the ukulele by age four and taking piano lessons at age seven. While attending President Theodore Roosevelt High School, Elliman performed in the school band on standup bass and violin. However, she became most proficient on the guitar and performed as a singer and guitarist in a folk music band named We Folk, which she formed with schoolmates. The band fared well competing in local talent shows.
According to Elliman, she was truant during her senior year at high school but graduated owing to the intervention of Peter Wilcox, the school's British-born band teacher, who persuaded her teachers to allow her to pass. He encouraged 17-year-old Elliman to relocate to London and pursue a musical career, which she did shortly after graduating.
London years, Jesus Christ Superstar
thumb|left|200px|Elliman with [[Ted Neeley in the 1973 feature film Jesus Christ Superstar]]
Elliman's singing career began in 1969 in London, performing in bars and clubs. At the time she did not like what she was singing. "I hated the music then", she recalled in a 1973 interview, adding, "I did it for the bread. I was into drugs and all that, and thought Grace Slick and the Jefferson Airplane was it". While still an unknown, she was discovered by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, who asked her to sing Mary Magdalene's part for the original audio recording of Jesus Christ Superstar. Ian Gillan was featured singing as Jesus. After its release as an album in 1970, they invited her to join the stage show's traveling cast, which she did for four years. She and Barry Dennen were the only cast members that performed on the original record, original Broadway production, and the film. Bill Oakes, who was president of Robert Stigwood's RSO Records. Before moving she was signed to Purple Records, singing on Jon Lord's album Gemini Suite in 1971 and releasing her second solo album Food of Love in 1973. She was asked to sing backing vocals on Eric Clapton's version of the Bob Marley song "I Shot the Sheriff" in 1974. She then went on tour as part of Clapton's band, and soon afterwards got her own recording contract with RSO Records. She continued to work with Clapton, performing on his albums from 1974 to 1977, including 461 Ocean Boulevard, There's One in Every Crowd, E. C. Was Here, No Reason to Cry, and Slowhand. A first album for the RSO label (her third in all), Rising Sun, produced by Steve Cropper, produced no hit singles, but her next album, Love Me, produced by Freddie Perren, gave her two top-20 hits, "Love Me" (written by Barry and Robin Gibb), and a Barbara Lewis cover song, "Hello Stranger". The song became a number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100;
A few minor top 40 hits followed in 1979, including the title theme song from the film Moment by Moment and another disco track, "Love Pains", which was a major club success. She appeared in Hawaii Five-O in a two-part episode ("Number One with a Bullet", 1978) as an aspiring singer, performing the song "I Can't Get You Outa My Mind" with fellow guest performer James Darren. The single "Savannah" was also a minor hit.
Hiatus and return
After spending a decade pursuing her career, Elliman went on hiatus as she had two children at home. She is featured on the 2014 Neeley EP Rock Opera performing a duet with him on "Up Where We Belong". In summer 2018, she joined in 45th anniversary Superstar film screenings events in Los Angeles.
Personal life
Elliman was married to RSO Records executive Bill Oakes from 1972 to 1980. She married songwriter Wade Hyman in 1981 and they had two children, Sage (born in 1982) and Ben (born in 1986).
Discography
- Yvonne Elliman (1972)
- Food of Love (1973)
- Rising Sun (1975)
- Love Me (1977)
- Night Flight (1978)
- Yvonne (1979)
- Simple Needs (2004)
See also
- List of number-one hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)