You Know How to Love Me

After pushing too hard to sell Phyllis Hyman to the pop market, Arista president Clive Davis wisely gave the seasoned jazz singer more control on her second Arista album. James Mtume and Reggie Lucas, whose jazz credentials and feel for funk were perfectly matched to Hyman’s tastes, produced 1978’s You Know How to Love Me. Their teamwork paid off immediately with the title song, which became Hyman’s first hit and the biggest song of her career. With its seamless arrangement and irrepressible vitality, it's one of the most glorious songs of its era, and hasn’t aged a day. Though most of the people who know “You Know How to Love Me” aren’t familiar with the rest of the album, it contains a string of songs that are almost as good, including “Under Your Spell,” “This Feeling Must Be Love,” and the aptly named “Heavenly.” “Hold On” sounds like a fabulous Stevie Wonder outtake, while “Give a Little More” has an enticingly unhurried groove. While Hyman has a beaming energy akin to Chaka Khan's, fans responded most deeply to the pride and vulnerability she displayed on ballads like “Some Way” and “But I Love You.”