# Sybil (singer-songwriter)

Sybil Ilona Lynch (born June 2, 1963), known mononymously as Sybil, is an American R&B and pop singer-songwriter. Sybil gained notable success in her career with songs during the mid-1980s into the mid-1990s. She is the cousin of former En Vogue singer Maxine Jones.

## Career

Sybil signed to Next Plateau Records in the United States (with a licensing deal with Champion Records in the United Kingdom) and began recording in 1986 with the release of her first single "Falling in Love". The record reached the top 30 on the Dance charts and began a successful career for Sybil, releasing her debut album Let Yourself Go a year later. Let Yourself Go featured several minor R&B hits, including the title track, in addition to including her original take on what would become her biggest hit- a cover version of the Dionne Warwick hit "Don't Make Me Over".
Two years later, Sybil released her self-titled second album, including a revamped version of "Don't Make Me Over", which achieved worldwide crossover success, along with another Warwick cover, "Walk On By", which were released in 1989 and 1990, respectively. The former became Sybil's biggest hit in the US, peaking at No. 20, and was a No. 1 hit in New Zealand. "Walk On By" is still, to date, the highest charting position for this Burt Bacharach/Hal David classic in the UK, peaking at No. 6, closely followed by Gabrielle (No. 7). The self-titled album became her biggest-selling album in the US. After being impressed by their remix work, Sybil signed with PWL Records for the UK market for this album, where it was titled Walk On By. Sybil would be signed to PWL Records until 1998.
Sybil's third album, Sybilization was released in the fall of 1990, but went largely unnoticed. In January 1993, Sybil achieved her most successful hit in the UK charts, with a cover of "The Love I Lost" peaking at No. 3; its follow-up "When I'm Good and Ready" peaked at No. 5. That same year, Sybil released two different albums: Doin' It Now! in North America and Good 'N' Ready in Europe. While sharing four songs on their track listing, Doin' It Now! has a more R&B/soul sound, while Good N' Ready mixes her soul sound with Stock and Waterman-penned Europop. In the US, "The Love I Lost" was released as a double A-side with the Sybil co-penned original "You're The Love of My Life" as the first single of the album.
In 1997, Sybil terminated her contract with Next Plateau Records with a Greatest Hits album, and later that same year, she released her last album to date, Still a Thrill, which was released in Europe and Japan only. Afterward, Sybil kept a low profile, still touring and releasing new house/dance singles in the new millennium aimed at the club market. Sybil appeared on the UK version of the TV series Hit Me, Baby, One More Time in 2005 performing her hit "When I'm Good and Ready". Afterwards, she began working in education, formerly teaching lyric and songwriting composition and creative writing, and later becoming a program director and lead achievement coach at Guilford Technical Community College in Greensboro, North Carolina.

## Discography
### Studio albums

| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Certifications |
| Year | Album details | US | US R&B | CAN | NZ | UK | Certifications |
| 1987 | Let Yourself Go Release date: 1987 Label: Next Plateau | — | — | — | — | 92 | |
| 1989 | Sybil Release date: September 20, 1989 Label: Next Plateau | 75 | 12 | 61 | 3 | 21 | RMNZ: Gold |
| 1990 | Sybilization Release date: October 19, 1990 Label: Next Plateau | — | 70 | — | — | — | |
| 1993 | Doin' It Now! Release date: March 3, 1993 Label: Next Plateau | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1993 | Good 'N' Ready Release date: May 14, 1993 Label: Next Plateau | — | — | — | — | 13 | |
| 1997 | Still a Thrill Release date: December 8, 1997 Label: Coalition | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. ||||||||
* $^A$ Album was released as Sybil in North America and Australasia and as Walk On By in the United Kingdom.

### Compilation albums

* Greatest Hits (1997, Next Plateau)
* Sybil's Greatest Hits (2007)

### Remix album

* Brighter Days: The Best Remix of Sybil (Japan only) (remix EP) (1998, eastwest)

### Singles

| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album |
| Year | Single | US | US R&B | US Dan | AUS | CAN | GER | IRE | NLD | NZ | UK | Certifications | Album |
| 1986 | "Falling in Love" | — | — | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 68 | | Let Yourself Go |
| 1987 | "Let Yourself Go" ft. Debbie Pender | — | 46 | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 32 | | Let Yourself Go |
| 1987 | "My Love Is Guaranteed" | — | 54 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 42 | | Let Yourself Go |
| 1988 | "Can't Wait (On Tomorrow)" | — | 90 | 49 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Sybil |
| 1989 | "Don't Make Me Over" | 20 | 2 | 4 | 144 | 58 | 40 | — | 48 | 1 | 19 | RIAA: Gold | Sybil |
| 1989 | "Walk On By" | 74 | 3 | 7 | — | — | — | 21 | 15 | 2 | 6 | | Sybil |
| 1989 | "All Through the Night" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 84 | | Let Yourself Go |
| 1990 | "Crazy 4 U" (featuring Salt-n-Pepa) | — | 19 | — | 147 | — | — | — | 30 | 26 | 71 | | Sybil |
| 1990 | "I Wanna Be Where You Are" | — | 86 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Sybil |
| 1990 | "Make It Easy on Me" | — | 52 | — | 160 | — | — | — | 76 | — | 99 | | Sybilization |
| 1991 | "Open Up the Door" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Sybilization |
| 1991 | "Go On" | — | 78 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Sybilization |
| 1991 | "Let It Rain" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Sybilization |
| 1991 | "Lovely Day" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Sybilization |
| 1993 | "You're the Love of My Life" | 90 | 37 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Doin' It Now! |
| 1993 | "The Love I Lost" (with West End) | 90 | — | 18 | 145 | — | 68 | 9 | — | — | 3 | | Doin' It Now! |
| 1993 | "When I'm Good and Ready" | — | — | — | 213 | — | 46 | 6 | — | — | 5 | | Good 'N' Ready |
| 1993 | "Beyond Your Wildest Dreams" | — | 90 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 41 | | Good 'N' Ready |
| 1993 | "Stronger Together" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 41 | | Good 'N' Ready |
| 1993 | "My Love Is Guaranteed" (Remix) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 48 | | Good 'N' Ready |
| 1996 | "So Tired of Being Alone" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 53 | | Good 'N' Ready |
| 1997 | "When I'm Good and Ready" (Remix) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 66 | | Greatest Hits |
| 1997 | "Still a Thrill" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 55 | | Still a Thrill |
| 1997 | "Why" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 81 | | Still a Thrill |
| 1998 | "When I Fall in Love" (with The Klub Family) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album singles |
| 2002 | "When I Fall in Love" (with Blaze) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 91 | | Non-album singles |
| 2002 | "You Should've Told Me | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album singles |
| 2006 | "Don't Give Up" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album singles |
| 2006 | "It's Too Late" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album singles |
| 2008 | "Shining Star" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album singles |
| 2009 | "Stronger (Can't Look Back)" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album singles |
| 2011 | "Troubled Waters" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album singles |
| 2016 | "Together You And I" (with The Four Kings) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album singles |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. ||||||||||||||

### Featured singles

| Year | Single | Artist | Peak | Album |
| Year | Single | Artist | US R&B | Album |
| 1990 | "Independent" | Salt-n-Pepa | 85 | Blacks' Magic |

## Covers

Her song "Make It Easy On Me" was covered by Lisa Scott-Lee on the Steps album Steptacular. The hook of the song "Don't Make Me Over" is sampled on the Caron Wheeler track "I Adore You". "Let Yourself Go" was sampled by Shinji Hosoe on the track "Feeling Over" for Namco's 1994 racing game Ridge Racer.