Just Say Goodbye

Esther Phillips cut the track in New York City on December 22, 1965, with Oliver Nelson arranging and directing a large Atlantic studio orchestra that included Bernie Glow, Jimmy Maxwell, Ernie Royal, Snooky Young, Jimmy Cleveland, Quentin Jackson, Tony Studd, Kai Winding, Jerry Dodgion, Phil Woods, Romeo Penque, Bob Ashton, Danny Bank, Paul Griffin, Leonard Pogan, George Duvivier, and Grady Tate. It was issued by Atlantic as the B-side of 45-2324 and placed on Esther Phillips Sings. The song anchored Phillips’ 1966 Atlantic era and gave Esther Phillips Sings one of its key album tracks. It also circulated as a Northern soul favorite in later retrospectives of her Atlantic material. “Just Say Goodbye” outlived its original release through later covers by The Dave Pike Set, Malo, and Luis Gasca with Joe Henderson, which kept the song in circulation beyond Phillips’ own discography. Its later inclusion on Northern soul compilations reinforced its reputation as a cult favorite.