The Soul Train – The Funk Sister

Memphis, Tennessee is famous in a musical sense for Graceland and the King of Rock-n-Roll Elvis Aaron Presley. And yet, in the midst of this, it’s also a hotbed of soul and funk.

Of course, the Stax empire was located in downtown Memphis giving us Issac Hayes, Carla Thomas, Sam & Dave, The Staple Singers and Booker T & the MGs.

Yet just down the road at 1320 South Lauderdale Street, in a disused theatre, was another soul music stable that started life as a rockabilly label – Hi Records.

Vice President Willie Mitchell oversaw the surge of popularity in one Al Green – famous for “Tired Of Being Alone”, “Let’s Stay Together” and “Here I Am (Come And Take Me)” which were huge global hits for the label.

But the roster also included Don Bryant, Syl Johnson, Otis Clay (both via Chicago) O.V. Wright and Don’s wife-to-be who just happens to be one of the most unheralded soul and funk genius performers: Ann Peebles.

Ann who? Many would say.

But in the 1970s sound of early funk pre-discofied soul, Ann was the High Priestess of the righteous, socially conscious, strong women who emerged into the spotlight just as Aretha, Betty Wright and Patti Labelle hit the scene.

Born in Missouri, The Peebles family found fame opening for acts like Gospel legend Mahalia Jackson and The Soul Stirrers (featuring the yet to be legendary) Sam Cooke.

When singing on tour in Memphis, she was introduced to Willie Mitchell, who immediately signed her up – the sound was perfect. Gritty, powerful, soaring and moody.

Early minor hits paved the way to acclaimed albums powered by the signature sound of the Hi label – driving horns from the Hi Rhythm Section. “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 ‘80s UK singer Paul Young).

But the best was yet to come:

Driving to a gig, Ann, Don and DJ Bernard Miller were caught in a storm. The skies opened up, and rain began to fall. In response, Peebles said, “I can’t stand the rain.” In a flash of momentary inspiration, Bryant picked up on it. Instead of going to the concert, they decided to stay in and pluck the song out of thin air; this is the stuff that myths are made of. “It really was that easy. “We didn’t go to the concert,” Bryant remembers. “We forgot about the concert.”

“I Can’t Stand the Rain” was written at that moment, and it was one of the more unorthodox songs of the day. Pizzicato strings, before the trademark, hi-hat, soaring brass, looping drums and Ann’s Southern-tinged painful vocals at 2 minutes 30 seconds was a real departure from the usual soul sound. Minimalist, but rich and powerfully pleading but not melancholy or overly downbeat.

No one expected this but this simple production became a top 10 R&B and top 40 Pop ranking song, proving that this captured the mood of the time. Exploring sadness, solitude and reflection that took songs of this nature away from romance, love and celebration into loss, sadness and darker feelings.

Ann may not be heralded as much as Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross or more popular selling female singers of the time, but her style, defiance and power are not to be underestimated.

Echoes of jazz greats like Etta James, Dinah Washington and Nina Simone, with a fierceness later to become the trademark of rappers like Queen Latifah, Missy Elliott (who covered “…Rain”) and Lady of Rage, you can see echoes of Ann Peebles in any soul sister with a leaning into social commentary, the strength of character in femininity and in the independence and affiliation with equality of the sexes.

Songs like “I Didn’t Take Your Man” and “Trouble, Heartaches and Sadness” were the funked-up versions of the Blues. The strife of being a strong-willed, assured black woman in ‘70s America, narrating this emergence into self-identified personas and self-determination to be more than “somebody’s woman”.

Ann Peebles also became one of the first female artists to be known for albums over singles. Much as Issac Hayes was doing for the soul brothers. Artistic, storytelling, percussive, brass-led tales of life, loves and liberty. Not just 2 standout songs and fillers. Ann’s “Part-Time Love”, “Straight From The Heart”, “I Can’t Stand The Rain”, “Tellin’ It” and “If This Is Heaven” showed a shift for the soul and funk connoisseurs from 45s to 33s.

Hi Records is more than the “other” label in Memphis to Stax. Just as Ann Peebles is more than the “other” soul sister to Aretha Franklin.

Aged 75, and sadly afflicted by a stroke in 2012, Ann stopped recording, so let’s get that 2 minutes 30 seconds of the pure, pleading soul that only Ann Peebles’ could muster, back into our playlists.

Perry Timms
4 July 2022.

Perry is the Founder and Chief Energy Officer of People and Transformational HR Ltd (PTHR) and is a Chartered Member of the CIPD, a fellow of the RSA and Visiting Professor at 4x Business Schools in the UK. Perry is a 3x published author; a 2x TEDx Speaker and 3x Member of HR’s Most Influential Thinkers List.

Perry’s musical heritage is in music of black origin and particularly 1960s American R&B and British Soul & Funk from the 1980s-date.