Ann Peebles is an
African AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
singer-songwriterSinger-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
who gained celebrity for her
Memphis soulMemphis soul, also known as Memphis Sound, is stylish, funky, uptown soul music that is not as hard-edged as Southern soul. It is a shimmering, sultry style produced in the 1960s and 1970s at Stax and Hi Records in Memphis, Tennessee, featuring melodic unison horn lines, organ, bass, and a driving...
albums of the 1970s on the
Hi RecordsHi Records was a Memphis soul and rockabilly label started in 1957 by singer Ray Harris, record store owner Joe Cuoghi, Bill Cantrell and Quinton Claunch , and three silent partners, including Cuoghi's lawyer, Nick Pesce....
labelIn the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
. Two of her most popular songs are "
I Can't Stand the Rain"I Can't Stand the Rain" is a song originally recorded by Ann Peebles, and written by Don Bryant, Bernard "Bernie" Miller & Ann Peebles. The song became Peebles' biggest hit when in 1973 it reached #38 on the US Pop Chart and #6 on the R&B/Black Chart. The single also reached #41 on the UK Pop...
" and "I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down", which she wrote with her husband,
Don BryantDon Bryant is an American singer and songwriter.Bryant was staff songwriter for Hi Records. He married soul singer Ann Peebles in 1974.-Discography:Doin' the Mustang...
, and radio broadcaster Bernard "Bernie" Miller and were subsequently popularized in
cover versionIn popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
s by, among others,
EruptionEruption was a popular disco / R&B / Soul band in the 1970s and 1980s.-History:Silent Eruption was formed in 1974 in Britain. In 1975 they won the RCA Soul Search Contest, whilst their first single "Let Me Take You Back in Time" was released in 1976...
(1978) and
Paul YoungPaul Antony Young is an English pop musician. Formerly the frontman of the short-lived bands Kat Kool & The Kool Cats, Streetband and Q-Tips, his following solo success as a solo recording artist turned him into a 1980s teenage pop idol...
(1984), respectively.
Career
A native of St Louis, Ann Peebles was given her first opportunity as a professional performer by Hi Records'
Gene "Bowlegs" MillerGene "Bowlegs" Miller was an Authentic Beale Street Musician who was a trumpeter and band leader. He was born May 27, 1933 and died December 25, 1987....
during a 1968 trip to sit in singing with him at a Memphis nightclub. A popular local bandleader, Miller was known for helping other musicians, such as members of the
Hi Rhythm SectionThe Hi Rhythm Section was most notably the house band for hit soul albums by several artists, including Al Green and Ann Peebles, on Willie Mitchell's Hi Records label in the 1970s. The band included the three Hodges brothers, Charles Hodges , Leroy Hodges , and Mabon "Teenie" Hodges , together...
, get their start in the Memphis music industry. Peebles soon began penning and singing
hitsA hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
for the label, co-writing with label staff songwriter Don Bryant, whom she married in 1974. She released a number of commercially successful and critically well received albums produced by Willie Mitchell on Hi Records throughout the 1970s, until the rise of
discoDisco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
music in the late 1970s took her music out of the limelight. Although Hi Records was sold in 1977, she reunited with Mitchell in 1989 to produce her comeback album,
Call Me.
In 2006 she released the album
Brand New Classics, which consisted of re-recordings of some of her songs in an
acousticAcoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means...
style.
Peebles has been
sampledIn music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
by many
hip hopHip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
artists, in particular
RZARobert Fitzgerald Diggs, better known by his stage name RZA , is an American Grammy-winning music producer, multi-instrumentalist, author, emcee, and occasional actor, director, and screenwriter. A prominent figure in Hip Hop, RZA is the de facto leader of the Wu-Tang Clan. He has produced almost...
and the
Wu-Tang ClanThe Wu-Tang Clan is a hip-hop group from Staten Island that consists of RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard. They are frequently joined by fellow childhood friend Cappadonna, a quasi member of the group...
. Furthermore her track "I Can't Stand The Rain" was first covered by Patrice Banks of
Graham Central StationGraham Central Station is a funk band named after founder Larry Graham . The name is a pun on New York City's Grand Central Terminal, often incorrectly called Grand Central Station....
on the 1975 release of
Ain't No 'Bout A Doubt It album and has also been utilized as a sample by the hip hop duo
Reflection EternalReflection Eternal is a hip hop duo composed of emcee Talib Kweli and DJ Hi-Tek. They released their first album, Train of Thought, in 2000...
(a collaborative group comprising conscious hip hop artist
Talib KweliTalib Kweli Greene , better known as Talib Kweli, is an American hip-hop artist and poet from Brooklyn, New York. His first name in Arabic means "student" or "seeker" ; his in Swahili means "true"...
, and
producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Hi-TekTony Cottrell, better known as Hi-Tek, is an American record producer and rapper from Cincinnati, Ohio. He is best known for his work with Talib Kweli on his Reflection Eternal album and on Black Star...
) for their song "Memories Live" on their debut album
Train Of ThoughtTrain of Thought is the debut album of American hip hop duo Reflection Eternal, released October 17, 2000 on Rawkus Records. Collaborating as a duo, rapper Talib Kweli and DJ and hip hop producer Hi-Tek recorded the album during 1999 to 2000, following their individual musical work that gained...
. "I Can't Stand the Rain" was also recorded by Grammy Award-winning singer
Tina TurnerTina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...
for her 1984
Private DancerPrivate Dancer is the fifth solo album by Tina Turner, released on Capitol Records in 1984, which became her breakthrough solo album. Turner's success with the album came after several challenging years of going solo after a public divorce from husband and performing partner Ike Turner. It is her...
album and released as the sixth single from the album in early 1985. In 1997,
Missy ElliottMelissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott , is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, and actressA five-time Grammy Award winner, Elliott, with record sales of over seven million in the United States, is the only female rapper to have five albums certified platinum by the RIAA, including one...
recorded "
The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)"The Rain " is a 1997 hit song recorded by American rapper Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott. It was written and composed by Don Bryant, Bernard "Bernie" Miller, Elliott, and producer Timbaland for her debut album Supa Dupa Fly and contains a sample of Ann Peebles' 1974 single "I Can't Stand the Rain",...
", an
interpolationInterpolation in music refers to an abrupt change in musical elements from the main theme.-In classical music:In music and musical composition, especially 20th century and later, interpolation is an abrupt change of elements, with continuation of the first idea...
of "I Can't Stand the Rain", as the first single from her debut album,
Supa Dupa FlyUpon its release, Supa Dupa Fly received critical acclaim among music critics. Writers lauded record producer Timbaland's production as unique and revolutionary, whose "lean, digital grooves are packed with unpredictable arrangements and stuttering rhythms"...
. In addition, "I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down" was sampled in the track "The Plan" by Wu-Tang Affiliated group
Sunz of ManSunz of Man is a Wu-Tang Clan affiliated group that currently consists of Prodigal Sunn, Hell Razah, 60 Second Assassin, Shabazz the Disciple and Killah Priest. The group's first incarnation also included 7th Ambassador and Supreme...
.
Peebles joined
Cyndi LauperCynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
on a recording of
Rollin' and Tumblin'"Rollin' and Tumblin" is a blues song that has been recorded hundreds of times by various artists. Considered as a traditional, it has been recorded with different lyrics and titles...
on Lauper's 11th studio album,
Memphis BluesMemphis Blues is the eleventh studio album by American singer Cyndi Lauper, nominee for the Grammy Awards 2010, was released on June 22, 2010. The album sold over 600,000 copies worldwide...
.
Albums
| Year |
Title |
U.S. R&B Albums Chart Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999...
|
| 1969 |
This Is Ann Peebles |
- |
| 1971 |
Part Time Love |
40 |
| 1972 |
Straight From the Heart |
42 |
| 1974 |
I Can't Stand the Rain I Can't Stand The Rain is an album by Ann Peebles. It was released on the Hi label in 1974.-Track listing:# "I Can't Stand The Rain" — 2:31# "Do I Need You" — 2:33...
|
25 |
| 1975 |
Tellin' It |
41 |
| 1977 |
If This Is Heaven |
- |
| 1978 |
The Handwriting's on the Wall |
- |
| 1989 |
Call Me |
- |
| 1992 |
Full Time Love |
- |
| 1995 |
Greatest Hits |
- |
| 1996 |
Fill This World With Love |
- |
| 2003 |
The Complete Ann Peebles on Hi Records Volume 1: 1969-1973 |
- |
| 2003 |
The Complete Ann Peebles on Hi Records Volume 2: 1974-1981 |
- |
| 2006 |
Brand New Classics |
- |
Chart singles
| Year |
Title |
U.S. R&B Chart Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
|
U.S. Pop Chart The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
|
| 1969 |
"Walk Away" |
22 |
- |
| 1969 |
"Give Me Some Credit" |
45 |
- |
| 1970 |
"Part Time Love" |
7 |
45 |
| 1971 |
"I Pity the Fool" |
18 |
85 |
| 1971 |
"Slipped, Tripped and Fell In Love" |
42 |
- |
| 1972 |
"Breaking Up Somebody's Home" |
13 |
- |
| 1972 |
"Somebody's On Your Case" |
32 |
- |
| 1973 |
"I Can't Stand the Rain "I Can't Stand the Rain" is a song originally recorded by Ann Peebles, and written by Don Bryant, Bernard "Bernie" Miller & Ann Peebles. The song became Peebles' biggest hit when in 1973 it reached #38 on the US Pop Chart and #6 on the R&B/Black Chart. The single also reached #41 on the UK Pop...
" |
6 |
38 |
| 1973 |
"I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down" |
31 |
- |
| 1974 |
"(You Keep Me) Hangin' On" |
37 |
- |
| 1974 |
"Do I Need You" |
57 |
- |
| 1975 |
"Beware" |
69 |
- |
| 1975 |
"Come to Mama" |
62 |
- |
| 1977 |
"Fill This World With Love" |
96 |
- |
| 1977 |
"If This Is Heaven" |
64 |
- |
| 1978 |
"I Didn't Take Your Man" |
55 |
- |
| 1978 |
"Old Man with Young Ideas" |
54 |
- |
| 1979 |
"If You Got the Time (I've Got the Love)" |
95 |
- |
External links