Phil Seymour

Biography

Phil Seymour, born Philip Warren Seymour on May 15, 1952, is best remembered as one-half of the creative force behind the Dwight Twilley Band, co-writing, with Dwight Twilley, some of the finest pop songs of the era such as the classic "I'm on Fire". After two albums came out (1976's 'Sincerely' and 1978's 'Twilley Don't Mind'), Seymour left to pursue a solo career, his singer-songwriter work perhaps peaking with his 1981 power pop hit "Precious to Me". He began the 80s spending a short time wa...

Phil Seymour, born Philip Warren Seymour on May 15, 1952, is best remembered as one-half of the creative force behind the Dwight Twilley Band, co-writing, with Dwight Twilley, some of the finest pop songs of the era such as the classic "I'm on Fire". After two albums came out (1976's 'Sincerely' and 1978's 'Twilley Don't Mind'), Seymour left to pursue a solo career, his singer-songwriter work perhaps peaking with his 1981 power pop hit "Precious to Me".

He began the 80s spending a short time waiting for a recording deal, recording solo sessions as well as contributing session work for rock artists Tom Petty, 20/20, and Moon Martin. Then, he signed to Boardwalk Records in 1980 after selling the label on a batch of demos recorded with fellow Tulsa, Oklahoma natives 20/20. His self-titled debut was well received at the time, with the single "Precious to Me" hitting #22 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending March 28, 1981 and the artist performing the tune on the famous 'American Bandstand' program. 'Phil Seymour' has additionally become highly revered in power pop circles as one of the landmark albums of the era.

He followed in 1982 with 'Phil Seymour 2', a less satisfying album both creatively and commercially that seemed to show that he had peaked to oearly. Seymour was left without a label when Boardwalk president Neil Bogart died shortly after the record's release. In 1984, he joined rocker Carla Olson's group Textones, drumming and singing on their 'Midnight Mission' album for the label A&M. While supporting the album, Seymour was diagnosed with lymphoma. He returned to Tulsa, carrying on at a diminished pace and recording infrequently, until the disease took his life in August of 1993.

Having passed away while he was preparing a new album, fans hoped that his last works would come to light. Thankfully, the new songs recorded between 1991 and 1992 were eventually included in the album 'Precious To Me: The Best Of Phil Seymour', released by Capitol/Right Stuff. The album featured two songs from Seymour's last recording session: the track "The First Mistake I Ever Made" and his remake of the Beatles' pop gem "I Need You". They were produced both by Phil Seymour himself and with the involvement of W. Russell Scott (aka Scott Russell).

Phil Seymour is buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Pauls Valley, Garvin County, Oklahoma in the United States. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.