Albert Leornes Greene, known professionally as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including "Take Me to the River", "Tired of Being Alone", "I'm Still in Love with You", "Love and Happiness", and his signature song, "Let's Stay Together". After his girlfriend died by suicide, Green became an ordained pastor and turned to gospel music. He later returned to secular music.
Memphis soul, also known as the Memphis sound, is the most prominent strain of Southern soul. It is a shimmering, sultry style produced in the 1960s and 1970s at Stax Records and Hi Records in Memphis, Tennessee, featuring melodic unison horn lines, organ, guitar, bass, and a driving beat on the drums.
The Hi Rhythm Section was 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, organist Charles Hodges, bassist Leroy Hodges and guitarist Mabon "Teenie" Hodges, together with pianist Archie Turner and drummer Howard Grimes. Many recordings also used The Memphis Horns - Wayne Jackson and Andrew Love - of Stax fame, usually with Willie's brother James Mitchell arranging and (Perry) Michael Allen - piano (Alt). The recordings were made at producer Willie Mitchell's Royal Recording Studio in Memphis, Tennessee.
William Lawrence Mitchell was an American trumpeter, bandleader, soul, R&B, rock and roll, pop and funk record producer and arranger who ran Royal Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. He was best known for his Hi Records label of the 1970s, which released albums by a large stable of popular Memphis soul artists, including Mitchell himself, Al Green, O. V. Wright, Syl Johnson, Ann Peebles and Quiet Elegance.
Hi Records is an American soul music and rockabilly label founded in Memphis, Tennessee, 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.
Ora D. Allen, known by the stage name Denise LaSalle, was an American blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, and record producer who, since the death of Koko Taylor, had been recognized as the "Queen of the Blues". Her husband was rapper Super Wolf.
Blue Light 'til Dawn is a studio album by American jazz singer Cassandra Wilson. Her first album on the Blue Note label, it was released in 1993. It contains Wilson's interpretations of songs by various blues and rock artists, as well as three original compositions.
I Can't Stand the Rain is the fourth studio album by American Memphis soul singer Ann Peebles. It was released on the Hi label in 1974 and was her highest-charting record on the Billboard 200, where it reached no. 155 and spent 7 weeks. Produced by Willie Mitchell and largely written by Peebles and her husband, Don Bryant, I Can't Stand the Rain included the R&B hits "I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down" and "I Can't Stand the Rain", the latter of which reached no. 6 on the R&B chart and no. 38 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1973.
Donald Maurice Bryant is an American rhythm and blues singer and songwriter.
"I Can't Stand the Rain" is a song originally recorded by Ann Peebles in 1973, and written by Peebles, Don Bryant, and Bernard "Bernie" Miller. Other notable versions were later recorded by Eruption, Graham Central Station, Tina Turner and Lowell George. The original version is ranked at 197 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Thunderbox is the seventh studio album by English hard rock group Humble Pie, released in 1974. It reached number 52 on the US Billboard 200 album chart. The planned UK release was cancelled.
Closer to You: The Pop Side is a compilation album by American jazz singer Cassandra Wilson, released in 2009.
Memphis Blues is the eleventh studio album by American singer Cyndi Lauper, containing cover versions of classic blues songs. Regarded as a continuation of her 2008 comeback, the album was a nominee for the Grammy Awards 2010 and was released on her 57th birthday, June 22, 2010. According to the Brazilian daily newspaper O Globo, the album had sold 600,000 copies worldwide by November 2010. Memphis Blues was voted the 7th best album of 2010 by the New York Post, and it went on to become Billboard's biggest selling blues album of 2010. To support the album, Lauper made her biggest tour ever, the Memphis Blues Tour, which had more than 140 shows.
Royal Studios is a recording studio located in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Established in 1956, it is one of the oldest continuously operated music recording studios in the world.
"I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down" is a song written by Memphis-based songwriter Earl Randle, and first recorded in 1972 by soul singer Ann Peebles. The song was also a hit in 1984 for English singer Paul Young.
Archie "Hubbie" Turner, sometimes known as "Hubbie" Mitchell, is an American keyboard player and songwriter who was a member of the Hi Rhythm Section in Memphis, Tennessee and has featured on over forty albums.
"Steal Away" is a 1964 R&B hit and Top 40 crossover song written and recorded by Jimmy Hughes. It was the first single recorded at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
Full Time Love is an album by the American musician Ann Peebles, released in 1992. Peebles supported the album by touring with Otis Clay.
"Breaking Up Somebody's Home" is a song written by Al Jackson Jr. and Timothy Matthews, originally recorded by Ann Peebles for her 1971 album Straight from the Heart. It was a successful single for Albert King and was later performed by Bette Midler, Etta James, Gov't Mule, and others.
Straight from the Heart is the third studio album by American Memphis soul singer Ann Peebles. It was released on the Hi label in 1974 and included the songs "I Pity the Fool" and "Breaking Up Somebody's Home".
