Ann Peebles

2025-09-01T13:30:27Z

2603:6010:E700:11D5:60C0:6594:AB14:23CD:

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Short description|American singer and songwriter (born 1947)|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Ann Peebles
| image = Ann Peebles performing at the Beale Street Music Festival in 2007.jpg
| caption = Peebles (2007)
| image_size = 
| birth_name = Ann Lee Peebles
| alias =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1947|4|27|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Kinloch, Missouri|Kinloch]], [[Missouri]], U.S.
| origin =
| instrument = Vocals
| genre = [[Blues]], [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]], [[Memphis soul]]
| occupation = Singer, songwriter
| years_active = Mid-1960s - 2012
| label = [[Hi Records|Hi]], Bullseye Blues
| associated_acts =
| website =
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Don Bryant (songwriter)|Don Bryant]]|1974}}
| current_members =
| past_members =
}}
'''Ann Lee Peebles''' (born April 27, 1947)<ref name="bare">{{cite book| first1= Bob| last1= Eagle| first2= Eric S.| last2= LeBlanc| year= 2013| title= Blues - A Regional Experience| publisher= Praeger Publishers| location= Santa Barbara| pages=142 | isbn= 978-0313344237}}</ref> is a retired American singer and songwriter who gained popularity for her [[Memphis soul]] albums of the 1970s while signed to [[Hi Records]]. Her most successful singles include "[[I Can't Stand the Rain (song)|I Can't Stand the Rain]]", which she wrote with her husband [[Don Bryant (songwriter)|Don Bryant]] and radio broadcaster Bernie Miller,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/17258816.html?dids=17258816:17258816&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Oct+18%2C+1996&author=Bill+Dahl.+Special+to+the+Tribune.&pub=Chicago+Tribune+%28pre-1997+Fulltext%29&desc=SINGING+UP+A+STORM+ANN+PEEBLES+IS+STILL+KNOWN+AS+THE+ARTIST+WHO+COULDN%27T+STAND+THE+RAIN&pqatl=google |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120713180540/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/17258816.html?dids=17258816:17258816&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Oct+18,+1996&author=Bill+Dahl.+Special+to+the+Tribune.&pub=Chicago+Tribune+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=SINGING+UP+A+STORM+ANN+PEEBLES+IS+STILL+KNOWN+AS+THE+ARTIST+WHO+COULDN'T+STAND+THE+RAIN&pqatl=google |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 13, 2012 |title=Singing up a storm: Ann Peebles is still known as the artist who couldn't stand the rain |first=Bill |last=Dahl |date=October 18, 1996 |newspaper=Chicago Tribune }}</ref><ref name=allmusic/> and "[[I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down]]". In 2014, she was inducted into the [[Memphis Music Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://memphismusichalloffame.com/inductee/annpeebles/|title=Memphis Music Hall of Fame: Ann Peebles|website=[[Memphis Music Hall of Fame]]|access-date=April 7, 2019}}</ref>

==Biography==
She was born in [[Kinloch, Missouri]],<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SL&p_theme=sl&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB050520B38630F&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |title=St. Louis Native Ann Peebles, A Hitmaker in the 70s, Returns Home With a New Album and a New Attitude |date=June 26, 1997 |first=Alan |last=Sculley |newspaper=St. Louis Post-Dispatch }}</ref> the seventh child of eleven. As a child she began singing in the choir of her father's church and with the family's group, the Peebles Choir,<ref name=guardian>Dorian Lynskey, [https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/feb/20/ann-peebles-girl-with-the-big-voice "Ann Peebles: the girl with the big voice"], ''The Guardian'', February 20, 2014. Retrieved June 30, 2014.</ref> who regularly opened shows for [[gospel music|gospel]] stars including [[Mahalia Jackson]] and the [[Soul Stirrers]] featuring [[Sam Cooke]]. She was also influenced by [[R&B]] performers, including [[Muddy Waters]], [[Mary Wells]] and [[Aretha Franklin]].<ref name=funkyflyy>Miss FunkyFlyy, [http://hem.bredband.net/funkyflyy/peebles/ "Ann Peebles"]. Retrieved June 30, 2014.</ref>
{{quote box
| quote = "Why gritty singing like this can't be heard on [[Progressive rock (radio format)|'progressive' radio]] when a borderline hysteric like [[Lydia Pense]] is an automatic add ought to be investigated by the [[Civil Rights Commission]]."
| source = –Review of ''Straight from the Heart'' in ''[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies]]'' (1981)<ref>{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1981|title=[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies]]|publisher=[[Ticknor & Fields]]|isbn=089919026X|chapter=Consumer Guide '70s: P|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=P&bk=70|access-date=March 9, 2019|via=robertchristgau.com}}</ref>
| width = 22%
| align = right
| style = padding:8px;
}}

She began performing in clubs in St. Louis, and in the mid-1960s joined a [[revue]] led by bandleader [[Oliver Sain]]. While visiting [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]] in 1968, she sang in a club with trumpeter [[Gene "Bowlegs" Miller]], a popular local bandleader known for helping other musicians, such as the members of the [[Hi Rhythm Section]] who played on Peebles' recordings, get their start in the Memphis music industry. Miller introduced her to [[Hi Records]] producer [[Willie Mitchell (musician)|Willie Mitchell]], who quickly offered her a recording contract.<ref name=allmusic>Steve Huey, [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p113145|pure_url=yes}} "Artist Biography"], Allmusic.com. Retrieved June 29, 2014.</ref><ref name=guardian/><ref name=funkyflyy/>

Her first record, "Walk Away", written by Sain, reached the [[R&B chart]] in 1969, as did the follow-up, "Give Me Some Credit", and she released an album, ''This Is Ann Peebles''. All her early records on Hi were produced by Mitchell, and featured the signature sound of the [[Hi Rhythm Section]] and [[Memphis Horns]]. In 1970, her single "[[Part Time Love]]" - a version of [[Little Johnny Taylor]]'s 1963 hit - reached no. 7 on the R&B chart, and no.45 on the pop chart, and she began working with the Hi label's songwriter [[Don Bryant (songwriter)|Don Bryant]], with whom she began a relationship and married in 1974.<ref>{{Cite book |last=[[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]] |title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Guinness Who's Who of Soul Music]] |date=1993 |publisher=[[Guinness Publishing]] |isbn=0-85112-733-9 |edition=First |series= |location=Enfield |pages=31/3}}</ref> One of the first songs he wrote for her was "99 Pounds" in 1971.<ref name=allmusic/><ref name=guardian/>

She continued to have R&B hits in the early 1970s, including "[[I Pity the Fool]]," "Slipped, Tripped and Fell in Love," "[[Breaking Up Somebody's Home]]" (a [[Hot 100]] hit in 1973 for [[Albert King]] and later recorded by [[Bette Midler]]), "Somebody's on Your Case," and "[[I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down]]" (later a hit for [[Paul Young]]). She was also the only female singer on Hi to release a string of albums, including ''Straight from the Heart'' and ''[[I Can't Stand the Rain (album)|I Can't Stand the Rain]]'', which contained many tracks that she co-wrote with Bryant. [[I Can't Stand the Rain (song)|The title track]] of the latter album, written by Peebles and Bryant with DJ Bernard Miller, was her biggest commercial success, reaching no. 6 on the [[R&B chart]] and no. 38 on the pop chart in 1973.<ref name=allmusic/>

Although she continued to have hit R&B singles and to release albums on Hi, none matched the success of "I Can't Stand the Rain". Mitchell later said: "She was the girl with the big voice who could have really gone further... But I don't think Ann spent enough time thinking about what she needed to do. I don't think she put as much energy into her career as a singer as some of the rest of these people."<ref name=guardian/>
After Hi Records closed in 1979, and with the rise of [[disco]] music, Peebles took a break from the music industry to spend more time with her family. She returned in 1989 with the album ''Call Me'', again produced by Willie Mitchell and released on his own Waylo label.<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=1997|edition=Concise|isbn=1-85227-745-9|page=940}}</ref> During the 1990s, she released albums on [[Rounder Records]]' Bullseye Blues subsidiary label.<ref name=allmusic/> She continued to perform, and in 2006 she released the album ''Brand New Classics'', which consisted of re-recordings of some of her songs in an [[acoustic music|acoustic]] style. Peebles also joined [[Cyndi Lauper]] on a recording of "[[Rollin' and Tumblin']]" on Lauper's 11th studio album, ''[[Memphis Blues (album)|Memphis Blues]]''. She gave up performing after a stroke in 2012.<ref name=guardian/><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Quietus {{!}} Features {{!}} A Quietus Interview {{!}} Love Like Rain: Ann Peebles & Don Bryant Interviewed |url=https://thequietus.com/articles/29713-ann-peebles-don-bryant-interview-oda |access-date=2023-09-05 |website=The Quietus |language=en-us}}</ref>

==Discography==
===Studio albums===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Title
! colspan="2"| Peak chart positions
! rowspan="2"| Record label
|- style="font-size:smaller;"
! width="35"| [[Billboard Hot 100|US]] <ref name=":0">{{Cite magazine |title=Ann Peebles {{!}} Biography, Music & News |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/ann-peebles/ |access-date=2023-09-05 |magazine=Billboard |language=en-US}}</ref>
! width="35"| [[Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums|US R&B]] <ref name=":0" />
|-
| rowspan="1"| 1969
| align="left"| ''This Is Ann Peebles''
| —
| —
| rowspan="7"| [[Hi Records|Hi]]
|-
| rowspan="1"| 1971
| align="left"| ''Part Time Love''
| —
| 40
|-
| rowspan="1"| 1971
| align="left"| ''[[Straight from the Heart (Ann Peebles album)|Straight from the Heart]]''
| 188
| 42
|-
| rowspan="1"| 1974
| align="left"| ''[[I Can't Stand the Rain (album)|I Can't Stand the Rain]]''
| 155
| 25
|-
| rowspan="1"| 1975
| align="left"| ''Tellin' It''
| —
| 41
|-
| rowspan="1"| 1977
| align="left"| ''If This Is Heaven''
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="1"| 1979
| align="left"| ''The Handwriting Is on the Wall''
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="1"| 1989
| align="left"| ''Call Me''
| —
| —
| rowspan="1"| Waylo
|-
| rowspan="1"| 1992
| align="left"| ''[[Full Time Love]]''
| —
| —
| rowspan="2"| [[Rounder Records|Bullseye Blues]]
|-
| rowspan="1"| 1996
| align="left"| ''[[Fill This World with Love]]''
| —
| —
|-
| colspan="15" style="font-size:90%" | "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
|}

===Compilation albums===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="1"| Year
! rowspan="1"| Title
! rowspan="1"| Record label
|- style="font-size:smaller;"

|-
| rowspan="1"| 1988
| align="left"| ''Ann Peebles' Greatest Hits''
| [[MCA Records|MCA]]
|-
| rowspan="1"| 1990
| align="left"| ''Lookin' for a Lovin''
| [[Hi Records|Hi]]/Demon
|-
| rowspan="1"| 1992
| align="left"| ''Sings Soul CLassics''
| CEMA Special Markets
|-
| rowspan="1"| 1992
| align="left"| ''Greatest Hits''
| rowspan="4" | Hi/Demon
|-
| rowspan="1"| 1995
| align="left"| ''U.S. R&B Hits '69-'79''
|-
| rowspan="1"| 1995
| align="left"| ''The Flipside of Ann Peebles''
|-
| rowspan="1"| 1996
| align="left"| ''St. Louis Woman/Memphis Soul''
|-
| rowspan="1"| 1996
| align="left"| ''The Best of Ann Peebles: The Hi Records Years''
| [[The Right Stuff Records|The Right Stuff]]/Capitol
|-
| rowspan="1"| 1998
| align="left"| ''How Strong Is A Woman: The Story of Ann Peebles (1969-80)''
| rowspan="4" | Hi/Demon
|-
| rowspan="1"| 2002
| align="left"| ''The Hi Singles A's & B's''
|-
| rowspan="1"| 2003
| align="left"| ''The Complete Ann Peebles on Hi Records, Volume 1: 1969-1973''
|-
| rowspan="1"| 2003
| align="left"| ''The Complete Ann Peebles on Hi Records, Volume 2: 1974-1981''
|-
| rowspan="1"| 2006
| align="left"| ''Original Funk Soul Sister: The Best of Ann Peebles''
| [[Demon Music Group|Music Club]]

|-
! rowspan="1"| 2015
! rowspan="1"| the essential ann peebles
! rowspan="1"| Hi Recording Corp.
|- style="font-size:smaller;"

|}

===Live albums===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="1"| Year
! rowspan="1"| Title
! rowspan="1"| Record label
|- style="font-size:smaller;"

|-
| rowspan="1"| 2022 (Recorded 1992)
| align="left"| ''Live in Memphis''
| Memphis International Records
|}

===Singles===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Title
! colspan="5"| Peak chart positions
|- style="font-size:smaller;"
! width="35"| [[Billboard Hot 100|US]] <ref name=":0" />
! width="35"| [[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs|US R&B]] <ref name=":0" />
! width="35"| [[Kent Music Report|AUS]] <ref name="kent">{{cite book|title=Australian Charts Book 1970—1992|author=David Kent|isbn=0-646-11917-6|year=1993|publisher=Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd, Turramurra, N.S.W.}}</ref>
! width="35"| [[RPM (magazine)|CAN]] <ref name="can">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-110.01-e.php?PHPSESSID=73m5irr8aoj3c7d7g5028nid72&q1=Ann+Peebles&q2=&interval=20|title=CAN Charts > Ann Peebles|magazine=[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]]|access-date=2015-03-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402141102/https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-110.01-e.php?PHPSESSID=73m5irr8aoj3c7d7g5028nid72&q1=Ann+Peebles&q2=&interval=20|archive-date=2015-04-02|url-status=dead}}</ref>
! width="35"| [[UK Singles Chart|UK]] <ref name="uk">{{cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/15001/ANN-PEEBLES/|title=UK Charts > Ann Peebles|publisher=[[Official Charts Company]]|access-date=2015-03-31}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="2"|1969
| align="left"| "Walk Away"
| —
| 22
| —
| —
| —
|-
| align="left"| "Give Me Some Credit"
| —
| 45
| —
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="2"|1970
| align="left"| "Generation Gap Between Us"
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
| align="left"| "[[Part Time Love]]"
| 45
| 7
| —
| 34
| —
|-
| rowspan="2"|1971
| align="left"| "[[I Pity the Fool]]"
| 85
| 18
| —
| —
| —
|-
| align="left"| "Slipped, Tripped and Fell In Love"
| 113
| 42
| —
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="2"|1972
| align="left"| "[[Breaking Up Somebody's Home]]"
| 101
| 13
| —
| —
| —
|-
| align="left"| "Somebody's on Your Case"
| 117
| 32
| —
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="2"|1973
| align="left"| "[[I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down]]"
| 111
| 31
| —
| —
| —
|-
| align="left"| "[[I Can't Stand the Rain (song)|I Can't Stand the Rain]]"
| 38
| 6
| 79
| 89
| 41
|-
| rowspan="3"|1974
| align="left"| "[[Hangin' On (The Gosdin Brothers song)|(You Keep Me) Hangin' On]]"
| 102
| 37
| —
| —
| 54{{Efn|Chart position is from the official UK "Breakers List".|name=fn2|group=upper-alpha}}
|-
| align="left"| "Do I Need You"
| —
| 57
| —
| —
| —
|-
| align="left"| "Until You Came into My Life"
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="2"|1975
| align="left"| "Beware"
| —
| 69
| —
| —
| —
|-
| align="left"| "Come to Mama"
| —
| 62
| —
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="3"|1976
| align="left"| "Dr. Love Power"
| —
| 57
| —
| —
| —
|-
| align="left"| "I Needed Somebody"
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
| align="left"| "Fill This World with Love"
| —
| 96
| —
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="1"|1977
| align="left"| "If This Is Heaven"
| —
| 64
| —
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="2"|1978
| align="left"| "Old Man with Young Ideas"
| —
| 54
| —
| —
| —
|-
| align="left"| "I Didn't Take Your Man"
| —
| 55
| —
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="1"|1979
| align="left"| "If You Got the Time (I've Got the Love)"
| —
| 95
| —
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="1"|1980
| align="left"| "Heartaches"
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="1"|1981
| align="left"| "Mon Belle - Amour" (with [[Don Bryant (songwriter)|Don Bryant]])
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
| colspan="15" style="font-size:90%" | "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
|}

==In popular culture==
Her name appears in the lyrics of the [[Le Tigre]] song "[[Hot Topic (song)|Hot Topic]]".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://slate.com/culture/2019/10/hot-topic-lyrics-le-tigre-who-is.html|title=57 Champions of Queer Feminism, All Name-Dropped in One Impossibly Catchy Song|first=Tammy|last=Oler|date=October 31, 2019|website=Slate}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{notelist-ua}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Ann Peebles}}
*{{allMusic|artist/ann-peebles-mn0000921002}}
*{{IMDb name|id=1132995|name=Ann Peebles}}

{{Ann Peebles}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peebles, Ann}}
[[Category:1947 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Songwriters from Missouri]]
[[Category:American soul singers]]
[[Category:Singers from St. Louis]]
[[Category:Hi Records artists]]
[[Category:Fat Possum Records artists]]
[[Category:African-American women songwriters]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American women singers]]
[[Category:20th-century American women singers]]
[[Category:20th-century American singers]]

Vero - Wikipedia - User contributions [en]

Ann Peebles