December 17, 2024 • 26 mins
PP Arnold, a legendary American soul singer with a voice that echoes through the annals of music history, joins us for an intimate conversation on Almost Live Nashville.
From her early days singing gospel in her Aunt Catherine's living room to her unexpected rise to fame with the Ike and Tina Turner Review, PP shares a deeply personal and inspiring story of resilience.
She reflects on the challenges she faced, including a challenging marriage and the daring leap into the 60s UK rock scene, collaborating with icons like Mick Jagger and Jimi Hendrix.
Her narrative is filled with surprising twists and heartening perseverance, offering listeners a vivid portrait of a woman who not only survived but thrived.
In our episode, PP takes us on a nostalgic journey through the vibrant 60s music scene, recounting her experiences with Steve Marriott and the Small Faces, and her collaboration with the band The Nice.
Despite industry setbacks, including unreleased tracks with Eric Clapton, her passion for music never waned.
Join us as we explore her ongoing legacy and learn how you can engage with her rich musical history online.
Whether it's through her personal website or her social media platforms, PP Arnold remains a powerful presence in the world of music.
This conversation is packed with unforgettable insights and stories that promise to leave you both inspired and entertained.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
My career in the entertainment industry has
enabled me to work with adiverse range of talent, from
up-and-coming artists toestablished celebrities.
Through my years of experience,I've recognized two essential
aspects.
Industry professionals, whetherfamous stars, up-and-coming
talent or behind-the-scenesstaff, have fascinating stories
(00:34):
to tell.
Secondly, audiences are eagerto listen to these stories,
which offer a glimpse into theirlives and the evolution of
their life stories.
This podcast aims to sharethese narratives, providing
information on how they evolvedinto their chosen career.
We will delve into theirjourney to stardom, discuss
their struggles and successesand hear from people who helped
(00:56):
them achieve their goals.
Get ready for intriguingbehind-the-scenes stories and
insights into the fascinatingworld of entertainment.
Hi, I'm Tony Mantor.
Welcome to Almost LiveNashville.
Joining us today is PP Arnold,an accomplished American soul
singer who launched her careerwith Ike and Tina Turner.
(01:17):
Her next move was to London,where she established a
successful solo career, becomingthe first artist to record.
The First Cut Is the Deepest.
Another big record she had wasAngel of the Morning.
We appreciate her taking thetime to share her inspiring
story.
Thanks for coming on.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Well, thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
Oh, it's my pleasure.
I'm really happy to have you on.
It's my understanding when youstarted singing that was not
your plan.
How did you get into theentertainment business?
Speaker 2 (01:48):
My story was not one of having an ambition to be a
professional singer or to be inthe music industry.
I'm doing some shows now,intimate Evening with PP Arnold
for my soul survivor, my bookSoul Survivor.
This show it's more of atheatrical show.
(02:08):
I tell the story and I take itall the way back to my gospel
roots.
I tell them about how mostpeople know me from coming to
the UK with the.
I Continue to Turn a Review.
What they don't know is thatI've been singing all my life
and that I was born into afamily of gospel singers and
(02:32):
that my parents moved from Tyler, texas, to Los Angeles in 1943
to escape the Jim Crow racismand segregation right.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
Is that when you started your singing?
Speaker 2 (02:47):
My grandmother and my Aunt Catherine created the Full
Gospel Baptist Church.
We used to have services inAunt Catherine's living room.
That's where I started my show.
When people come into thetheater they're hearing me and
I've done this whole thing.
(03:07):
You know, I've done it from theroot and I've stacked all the
harmonies so it sounds like myfamily in Aunt Catherine's
living room and I'm singing likeI learned.
The Lord, he heard my cry, hedid every moment and all the
(03:38):
still singing good, that's great, sounds really good and you're
still singing.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Good, that's awesome.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
I put the whole thing .
You know having New Year's andyou know, and yeah, so when
people come into that theater,that's what they're hearing even
before I come on stage.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Oh, that's great.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
And then I walk on stage singing Wade in the Water,
you know, and I do Wade in theWater and then I talk about the
whole thing of like andCaptain's Living Room and these.
You know they've heard some ofthe songs that we sang.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
And how old was you when you was doing that?
Speaker 2 (04:21):
I started singing at the age of four and I sing my
new song that I sang we are thelittle gems in the army.
I do that and this little nightof mine that I used to do with
my sibling, and then I opened itup.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
Oh yeah, that's just so nice, Great story and just
really inspiring.
And it wasn't long after thatthat Ike and Tina Turner showed
up for you.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
So, like when Ike and Tina came knocking for me, I
never looked for stardom and Inever had that ambition to be in
the industry or be aprofessional singer.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
Yeah, that's great, and I think that you was doing
really well in school at thattime too, right?
Speaker 2 (05:06):
I was an honor roll student on my way to being a
legal secretary, but at the ageof 17, I had been married for
two years.
I was trapped in a marriagethat was physically and mentally
abusive.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Yeah, that's too bad.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
So I tell that story of being in my laundry room that
Sunday morning and reminiscinghere in my father's quote when
you make your bed hard, you gotto lie.
So I was kind of lying in myhard bed reminiscing about what
it used to be like.
Sunday mornings used to beabout getting up, going to
(05:45):
church, teaching Sunday schooland marching in the church in my
choir room singing, walking thelight.
You know, I was like in therethat morning and I actually said
a prayer.
I asked God to show me a wayout of the situation that I was
in.
I knew I brought it all onmyself, but I was afraid and I
(06:08):
asked God for help.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
Well, there's nothing wrong with that, and it looks
like he answered your prayer.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
And I went in the house, phone rang girlfriend of
my brother, maxine Smith, herand another girl, gloria Scott,
who you might know.
Of Gloria Scott you might haveheard Gloria.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Yeah, sure.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
They call me in a panic.
Gloria was already an Ike cat.
She knew.
You know, ike Turner was veryshrewd.
He had two sets of Ike cats.
He had a set that went out onthe road with the review and
another set that he sent out onthe Dick Clark tour.
So Gloria sang with this Bgroup.
(06:47):
So Gloria knew that the othergirls were leaving, so she
wanted that gig.
So she had brought Maxine in,and then that urban girl that
was supposed to go with themdidn't show up.
So they called me out ofdesperation.
So, maxine, you know I can't go.
You know, david, my husband'snot going to let me go and she
(07:09):
goes.
I will tell him anything.
We're coming to get you in 30minutes.
Bam, she hung up the phone.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
In 30 minutes.
She was there and I put my newhairnet feather hairnet because
my hair was all messed up andeverything.
I was still in my house clotheswhen they came Next thing.
I know two hours later I'm inIke and Tina's living room
singing, dancing in the street.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
Wow, that's impressive.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Well, you know, tina goes right.
Girl, you got the gig.
I go like, oh no, not me, I'mnot going, I'm in big trouble.
I should have been home twohours ago.
I told my husband a lie to gethim the baby sted.
Tina said well.
So I said to Tina I'm going toget my butt kicked when I get
(07:58):
home.
Tina said to me well, if you'regoing to get your butt kicked
for nothing, why don't you rideup to Fresno with us and at
least see the game?
I was under Tina Turner.
She was so beautiful and shewas right because I was going to
get my butt kicked.
So but I was like under herspell and that day had kind of
(08:20):
taken on a life of its own.
I go, I see the show.
You know, it's just the mostamazing thing I've ever seen in
my whole life.
Come back home, I get my buttkicked.
I remember my prayer, realizedthat God had answered my prayer
and I believed that he wasshowing me the way out.
So that's how I got into showbusiness.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
Wow, that's great.
What a story.
Who was your inspiration thatyou liked listening to?
Speaker 2 (08:47):
Aretha Franklin was my inspiration for singing
period.
You know as a little girl,aretha the gospel, you know.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
Oh yeah, she was great, no doubt about it.
How long was you with Ike andTina Turner before you decided
that you needed to take andexpand and go on your own?
Speaker 2 (09:05):
Well, I toured with Ike and Tina for two years, from
64 to 66.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
So I was with them when they had Riverdeep Mountain
High.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Right.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
After it had flopped in America, when it was a big
hit in the UK and then they gotthe opportunity to support the
Stone on their 1966 tour.
So I just happened to be withthe review at that time when we
came to the UK.
1966 Rolling Stones tour.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
So Mick Jagger and you became friends right, and
that was a big part of why youmade your move and stayed over
in the UK.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Well, the Stones, I would say okay.
While I was on tour, mickJagger and I became friends.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
Right.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
And so it wasn't actually the Stones is why I
stayed.
I stayed because Stones'manager had Immediate Records,
which was one of the firstindependent record labels there
here here, Mick and Andrewinvited me to stay in the UK and
(10:11):
sign to the Immediate RecordLabel and once again, you know I
had never even planned on beingin the business and I certainly
never planned on being a soloartist.
But there was a lot of thingsgoing on.
It was I, Cantina, you know thestuff that was going on and I
was planning on leaving.
(10:32):
I didn't know how I would keepgoing, I hadn't even thought
about it, but I was planning onleaving the review when we got
back to the state.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
So what happened next then?
Speaker 2 (10:43):
They offered me this opportunity to stay in the UK
and sign to the immediate recordlabel, and that's what it did,
and then that was.
That was the beginning.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
Yeah, and what a great beginning.
When you cut, the first cut isthe deepest.
Was that song written for youor pitched to you?
Speaker 2 (11:01):
As if it was written for me.
But it was pitched to me and itwas really as if Steve, as we
call him, yousef now, I justrecently got a chance.
We did a show doing a duet ofFirst Cut in the Deepest for the
very first time together.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
Wow, that must have been great.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
That was just mind-blowing, really.
Yeah, he pitched that song,mike Hurst pitched the song,
mike Hurst produced it and Mikewas producing Yusef Cat at the
time and he brought the song tothe table Because the actual
first single that I released Idon't know if you know my single
(11:46):
.
Everybody's Gonna Say that it'sso Bad.
You know that tune.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
Absolutely Great song .
Speaker 2 (11:54):
That was the first release, but it didn't really do
anything.
It's a big hit over here.
Now, though, they just releasedit again on vinyl.
Everything's going to be allright, so it survived the test
of time.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
Yeah, that's great.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
So Andrew brought Mike in to produce Bird Cutting
the Deepest.
Yeah, and it was a hit.
It was a big hit.
It was in the state in thecharts.
Yeah, and it was, and and itwas a hit.
It was a big hit.
It was in the state in thechart about 10, 12 weeks.
It wasn't as big a hit as itcould have been because, uh,
immediate was had a lot ofdistribution problems back there
(12:30):
in those days, but I recordedit 10 years before Rod, not sure
if Sheryl Crow was born or not,but you know they made the.
You know later days theyactually got paid.
You know everybody in the 60sgot ripped off.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
Yeah, that's really sad.
I've heard all those stories.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
With your body of work and everything that you've
done over the years.
What's some of the things thatjust stand out to you that
you'll never forget?
Speaker 2 (13:05):
I'll never forget that experience of being a young
, really naive, young blackAmerican girl from Watts, coming
to the UK and coming out of thecivil rights revolution to the
rock and roll revolution thatwas happening here in the UK and
(13:27):
being such a big part of that.
Yeah, those years and becominga solo artist, I didn't know, it
wasn't even my vision at thetime, it was Andrew's vision.
I just loved to sing.
So, yeah, so those years ofbeing through that, and all my
friendships and all therelationships with Mick and
(13:50):
Steve Marion and Jimmy, jimmyHendrix, jimmy came and you know
and God planned it that welived right around the corner
from each other, just byaccident, you know.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
Oh yeah, and some of the tours that you was in, it
was just outstanding.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
I was a part of that whole scene, that whole 60s
scene, you know, and my band,the Nice.
Keith Emerson was my musicaldirector for the Nice and I had
a few bands, but the Nice wasthe well-known band that worked
alongside all the big rock androll Pink Floyd, you know
(14:29):
everybody, Jeff Beck, all of theyou know, I was part of that.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
Yeah, and that was just an awesome time to be alive
.
If we fast forward a little bit, barry Gibb actually produced
some music for you as well.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
Right, he really did.
Immediate folded.
You know, immediate recordswent bankrupt.
Have you read my book the SoulSurvival?
Speaker 1 (14:53):
No, I'm going to have to get that.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
We'll have to get you a soul copy of that because it
has the whole story.
When Immediate folded my friendJames Morris, who later became
my husband.
He worked for Robert Stigwood.
He was like a Robert's personalassistant driver, everything.
That's how I met Barry.
(15:15):
Barry was a big fan of myversion of to love somebody.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
Oh, okay.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
Yeah.
So he wanted to meet me and heand Jim were like really close.
So that's how I met Barry, andat the time the Bee Gees had
split up, the brothers had splitup, and so I was at a
crossroads.
Barry was at a crossroads.
He loved my voice so he wantedto.
(15:42):
Instead of just like being inall the politics that was going
on at the time, with the familypolitics, he wanted to produce
me.
We just, you know, we wouldjust spend days together and
songs run like a river throughhim.
All of those songs that we didon the Turning Tide album.
(16:02):
We produced those, he producedthose, and there was a lot of
politics.
Oh yeah, Of course Robert wantedBarry.
He didn't want him producing me, he wanted him producing his
brother, to be back with hisbrothers, which I did too.
I was a big BG fan, you know.
So in a way I got kind ofcaught in the middle of those
(16:25):
politics.
Anyway, it's a long story, it'sall in the book.
So Barry had a plan.
Ahmaud Arden came to town.
Barry invited Ahmaud to dinnerone evening.
Stingy came, but Stingy didn'tknow Barry's plans.
After dinner he pulled out theguitar and we did sing some of
(16:47):
the songs that we had beenworking on together and Ahmaud
goes Stingy, this girl is great.
And Stingy goes yes, yes, yes,we're dealing with the paperwork
right now, right, but of coursehe had, and he wasn't really
happy about signing me, you know.
(17:07):
But he did because I'm a greatidea and you know, Polydor,
London and Atlantic in theStates.
I mean, that was like for me,like a dream come true.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
Yeah, I get that for sure.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
You know, things didn't really work out.
We recorded, I think, the trackBury Me Down by the River was
really in the States, butbecause there wasn't an album
following it and everythingtogether, I didn't really get
the airplay and I think hewasn't really pushing that,
basically.
Anyway, what happened is like,at the end of the day, those
(17:42):
recordings got put on the show.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
Yeah, that's too bad.
Unfortunately, that does happenthough.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Eric Clapton was also signed to Robert Stigwood and
even though Stiggy was managingme his will, you know, but he
didn't dump me straight away.
He didn't dump me straight away.
He put me on the tour.
I opened up the Eric Clapton,delaney and Bonnie tour here in
the early 70s.
(18:09):
Yeah, I put together Steve Howewas on guitar, playing guitar
with me, ashton Gardner and TonyAshton and Kim Gardner and,
yeah, those guys were my rhythmsection and I had Leslie Duncan
and Kay Garner and we opened upthe tour.
(18:29):
I was open for that tour and sothat was a great opportunity.
So I thought, oh well, I'mgoing to get back to recording
and being live again, becausethere was a lot that had
happened during that period.
Yeah, stingy didn't like thosetracks.
After the tour, we got Eric toproduce and we did those great
(18:49):
covers Brand New Day great coverof Brand New Day you Can't
Always Get what you Want and theMedicaid and Food Tracks.
Those tracks got put on theshelf as well.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
Wow, yeah, that's just so bad.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
I fought for 50 years to get the right to release
that music.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
yeah, yeah, it's amazing how this business
operates.
At times it's pretty sad.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
Now you recorded with Small Faces and ultimately, at
some point, recorded with RodStewart as well, right?
Speaker 2 (19:21):
I recorded with the Small Faces in 67, 68.
I recorded 10 Soldier.
You know that track, 10 Soldier, yeah, Okay, so that's me on 10
Soldier.
And they also played onEverything's Gonna Be Alright.
They played and sang on thatand then they produced my track.
(19:43):
If you Think You're Groovy,those are the things we did at
Immediate.
But I worked with Steve allthrough the years, right up with
Pack of the Three, and Irecorded stuff with them, with
Humble, with Steve, and thenright up until before, right
before Steve passed away all hissolo albums.
After that, Rod Stewart, Uh-oh,Okay, Mick had the idea of
(20:11):
producing Rod and I together todo like Otis Redding, Carla
Thomas type duet kind of vibe.
That's what we were doing.
But Rod was a nightmare duringthose sessions.
We did that track and we did ohGod, what's the name of the
track Working on a coal minegoing that Leroy Dorothy track
(20:34):
Working on a Coal Mine.
We recorded that track andthat's never.
I don't know what happened tothat.
Mick was so annoyed at Rodduring those sessions because
Rod was so difficult to workwith.
We first started recording thesong.
It was too low for me.
Then we decided Rod, no, westarted recording it.
(20:55):
Rod didn't like the key that hewas singing in so we changed
the key so it made it too lowfor me.
So once I got into that low keyand when I was sounding good in
the low key, he wanted tochange the key again.
So he changed the key so it wasway too high.
(21:16):
So that's why when you hearthat track, Come On, Baby, I'm
singing that high, that top bit.
So once I got into that, it'shappening.
It wasn't happening.
So whoa, that was it.
Make it add enough.
The session done.
Make walked out.
That's why that track was neverreleased properly.
Speaker 1 (21:35):
Yeah, that's too bad, because it did get released.
It just didn't go where itshould have Just hit the top 100
.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
Did it get to the top 100?
I never knew it went to the top100.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
Yeah, it did get into the top 100, I think around 91
or so, and that was in the UK.
It just didn't go high as itshould have.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
I don't know nothing about that.
You just told me something thatI don't even know.
You know because all I know isthat I found out that the track
had been released on some ofRod's album.
It was like as if I was abacking singer on the track.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
Oh, wow, yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
And I said you just told me something that I didn't
know.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
Yeah, it's documented as 2005 release went to number
93 in the UK.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
I never heard that, but I will definitely check that
out and see what that is.
Wow, yeah, and so that was theend of me and Rod's recording
relationship together.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
So what's on the schedule now?
You're out there promoting yourbook.
I think you're doing someperformances.
What's coming up for you?
Speaker 2 (22:38):
Okay, do you know about the New Adventures album,
the New Adventures of PP Arnold?
Speaker 1 (22:44):
I don't know a lot about it, but I have heard about
it.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
This is the New Adventures of PP Arnold album.
Okay, and it has lots of stuff.
Garrett Mankovich did all theartwork and he did all the
photos, like he did for like theearly ones, and it has all the
sleeves.
It's a double album and it wasproduced by Steve Kravitz of
(23:07):
Ocean Color Scenes.
So I got Paul Welling it waslike mixed.
Then we recorded it in Steve'sstudio in Devon but it was mixed
at Black Barn, paul Weller'sstudio and I've got a couple of
Paul tunes on here Shoot theDove.
You know that tune, shoot theDove.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
Yes, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (23:27):
And when I was your picture that Paul and I do
things together on there.
I'm getting ready to do a duetwith Paul for this new album.
So this is live in Liverpool.
This is being released on the18th of October.
So it's like the live album.
We toured the New Adventuresalbum in 2019 before the
(23:49):
pandemic.
It's released on Ear Music.
The last concert that we did,dean toured with me and musical
directed the band.
We had a great band with hornsand girls and everything.
He did that.
So this is the live versionlive in Liverpool gig that we
(24:10):
did when we were touring the NewAdventures album and it was
recorded at the Grand CentralHall in Liverpool.
Yeah, it's my first and it'sthe only live album I've ever
done and I'm really, really,really, really proud of it and
it sounds great.
We've also got the guys fromthe specials.
(24:31):
Marcus Ferrari mixed it.
He's the engineer that went outon the road with us and he
recorded it.
We mixed it here recently.
But the specials the guys, thehorn players, the guitar players
some of the specials areplaying on that and, yeah, it's
pretty awesome.
My son, kojo Samuel.
(24:52):
We wrote I Believe and Hold OnTo your Dreams, the two tracks
that I wrote with my son onthere and everybody loved those
tracks and grandma's still outhere going strong.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
Yeah, gotta say it's just great that you're still out
there doing what you love to do.
Speaker 2 (25:11):
Oh, that's my happy place.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
Oh yeah, I understand that Mine too.
How can people find you?
Speaker 2 (25:17):
Well, they can find me.
I have a website, wwwpparnocom.
I'm on Facebook, I'm onInstagram, I'm on Twitter, on
YouTube, all over YouTube, ifyou want to see like a lot of
history, and all you have to dois Google me.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
Absolutely, and I'm sure they will.
This has been just fantastic.
I really appreciate you comingon.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
Well, thank you for having me.
God bless Lots of love, okay,cheers.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
Thanks again.
Thanks for joining us today.
We hope you enjoyed the show.
This has been a Tony Mantourproduction.
For more information, contactmedia at platomusiccom.
My career in the entertainment industry has
enabled me to work with adiverse range of talent, from
up-and-coming artists toestablished celebrities.
Through my years of experience,I've recognized two essential
aspects.
Industry professionals, whetherfamous stars, up-and-coming
talent or behind-the-scenesstaff, have fascinating stories
(00:34):
to tell.
Secondly, audiences are eagerto listen to these stories,
which offer a glimpse into theirlives and the evolution of
their life stories.
This podcast aims to sharethese narratives, providing
information on how they evolvedinto their chosen career.
We will delve into theirjourney to stardom, discuss
their struggles and successesand hear from people who helped
(00:56):
them achieve their goals.
Get ready for intriguingbehind-the-scenes stories and
insights into the fascinatingworld of entertainment.
Hi, I'm Tony Mantor.
Welcome to Almost LiveNashville.
Joining us today is PP Arnold,an accomplished American soul
singer who launched her careerwith Ike and Tina Turner.
(01:17):
Her next move was to London,where she established a
successful solo career, becomingthe first artist to record.
The First Cut Is the Deepest.
Another big record she had wasAngel of the Morning.
We appreciate her taking thetime to share her inspiring
story.
Thanks for coming on.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Well, thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
Oh, it's my pleasure.
I'm really happy to have you on.
It's my understanding when youstarted singing that was not
your plan.
How did you get into theentertainment business?
Speaker 2 (01:48):
My story was not one of having an ambition to be a
professional singer or to be inthe music industry.
I'm doing some shows now,intimate Evening with PP Arnold
for my soul survivor, my bookSoul Survivor.
This show it's more of atheatrical show.
(02:08):
I tell the story and I take itall the way back to my gospel
roots.
I tell them about how mostpeople know me from coming to
the UK with the.
I Continue to Turn a Review.
What they don't know is thatI've been singing all my life
and that I was born into afamily of gospel singers and
(02:32):
that my parents moved from Tyler, texas, to Los Angeles in 1943
to escape the Jim Crow racismand segregation right.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
Is that when you started your singing?
Speaker 2 (02:47):
My grandmother and my Aunt Catherine created the Full
Gospel Baptist Church.
We used to have services inAunt Catherine's living room.
That's where I started my show.
When people come into thetheater they're hearing me and
I've done this whole thing.
(03:07):
You know, I've done it from theroot and I've stacked all the
harmonies so it sounds like myfamily in Aunt Catherine's
living room and I'm singing likeI learned.
The Lord, he heard my cry, hedid every moment and all the
(03:38):
still singing good, that's great, sounds really good and you're
still singing.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Good, that's awesome.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
I put the whole thing .
You know having New Year's andyou know, and yeah, so when
people come into that theater,that's what they're hearing even
before I come on stage.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Oh, that's great.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
And then I walk on stage singing Wade in the Water,
you know, and I do Wade in theWater and then I talk about the
whole thing of like andCaptain's Living Room and these.
You know they've heard some ofthe songs that we sang.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
And how old was you when you was doing that?
Speaker 2 (04:21):
I started singing at the age of four and I sing my
new song that I sang we are thelittle gems in the army.
I do that and this little nightof mine that I used to do with
my sibling, and then I opened itup.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
Oh yeah, that's just so nice, Great story and just
really inspiring.
And it wasn't long after thatthat Ike and Tina Turner showed
up for you.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
So, like when Ike and Tina came knocking for me, I
never looked for stardom and Inever had that ambition to be in
the industry or be aprofessional singer.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
Yeah, that's great, and I think that you was doing
really well in school at thattime too, right?
Speaker 2 (05:06):
I was an honor roll student on my way to being a
legal secretary, but at the ageof 17, I had been married for
two years.
I was trapped in a marriagethat was physically and mentally
abusive.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Yeah, that's too bad.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
So I tell that story of being in my laundry room that
Sunday morning and reminiscinghere in my father's quote when
you make your bed hard, you gotto lie.
So I was kind of lying in myhard bed reminiscing about what
it used to be like.
Sunday mornings used to beabout getting up, going to
(05:45):
church, teaching Sunday schooland marching in the church in my
choir room singing, walking thelight.
You know, I was like in therethat morning and I actually said
a prayer.
I asked God to show me a wayout of the situation that I was
in.
I knew I brought it all onmyself, but I was afraid and I
(06:08):
asked God for help.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
Well, there's nothing wrong with that, and it looks
like he answered your prayer.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
And I went in the house, phone rang girlfriend of
my brother, maxine Smith, herand another girl, gloria Scott,
who you might know.
Of Gloria Scott you might haveheard Gloria.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Yeah, sure.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
They call me in a panic.
Gloria was already an Ike cat.
She knew.
You know, ike Turner was veryshrewd.
He had two sets of Ike cats.
He had a set that went out onthe road with the review and
another set that he sent out onthe Dick Clark tour.
So Gloria sang with this Bgroup.
(06:47):
So Gloria knew that the othergirls were leaving, so she
wanted that gig.
So she had brought Maxine in,and then that urban girl that
was supposed to go with themdidn't show up.
So they called me out ofdesperation.
So, maxine, you know I can't go.
You know, david, my husband'snot going to let me go and she
(07:09):
goes.
I will tell him anything.
We're coming to get you in 30minutes.
Bam, she hung up the phone.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
In 30 minutes.
She was there and I put my newhairnet feather hairnet because
my hair was all messed up andeverything.
I was still in my house clotheswhen they came Next thing.
I know two hours later I'm inIke and Tina's living room
singing, dancing in the street.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
Wow, that's impressive.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Well, you know, tina goes right.
Girl, you got the gig.
I go like, oh no, not me, I'mnot going, I'm in big trouble.
I should have been home twohours ago.
I told my husband a lie to gethim the baby sted.
Tina said well.
So I said to Tina I'm going toget my butt kicked when I get
(07:58):
home.
Tina said to me well, if you'regoing to get your butt kicked
for nothing, why don't you rideup to Fresno with us and at
least see the game?
I was under Tina Turner.
She was so beautiful and shewas right because I was going to
get my butt kicked.
So but I was like under herspell and that day had kind of
(08:20):
taken on a life of its own.
I go, I see the show.
You know, it's just the mostamazing thing I've ever seen in
my whole life.
Come back home, I get my buttkicked.
I remember my prayer, realizedthat God had answered my prayer
and I believed that he wasshowing me the way out.
So that's how I got into showbusiness.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
Wow, that's great.
What a story.
Who was your inspiration thatyou liked listening to?
Speaker 2 (08:47):
Aretha Franklin was my inspiration for singing
period.
You know as a little girl,aretha the gospel, you know.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
Oh yeah, she was great, no doubt about it.
How long was you with Ike andTina Turner before you decided
that you needed to take andexpand and go on your own?
Speaker 2 (09:05):
Well, I toured with Ike and Tina for two years, from
64 to 66.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
So I was with them when they had Riverdeep Mountain
High.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Right.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
After it had flopped in America, when it was a big
hit in the UK and then they gotthe opportunity to support the
Stone on their 1966 tour.
So I just happened to be withthe review at that time when we
came to the UK.
1966 Rolling Stones tour.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
So Mick Jagger and you became friends right, and
that was a big part of why youmade your move and stayed over
in the UK.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Well, the Stones, I would say okay.
While I was on tour, mickJagger and I became friends.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
Right.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
And so it wasn't actually the Stones is why I
stayed.
I stayed because Stones'manager had Immediate Records,
which was one of the firstindependent record labels there
here here, Mick and Andrewinvited me to stay in the UK and
(10:11):
sign to the Immediate RecordLabel and once again, you know I
had never even planned on beingin the business and I certainly
never planned on being a soloartist.
But there was a lot of thingsgoing on.
It was I, Cantina, you know thestuff that was going on and I
was planning on leaving.
(10:32):
I didn't know how I would keepgoing, I hadn't even thought
about it, but I was planning onleaving the review when we got
back to the state.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
So what happened next then?
Speaker 2 (10:43):
They offered me this opportunity to stay in the UK
and sign to the immediate recordlabel, and that's what it did,
and then that was.
That was the beginning.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
Yeah, and what a great beginning.
When you cut, the first cut isthe deepest.
Was that song written for youor pitched to you?
Speaker 2 (11:01):
As if it was written for me.
But it was pitched to me and itwas really as if Steve, as we
call him, yousef now, I justrecently got a chance.
We did a show doing a duet ofFirst Cut in the Deepest for the
very first time together.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
Wow, that must have been great.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
That was just mind-blowing, really.
Yeah, he pitched that song,mike Hurst pitched the song,
mike Hurst produced it and Mikewas producing Yusef Cat at the
time and he brought the song tothe table Because the actual
first single that I released Idon't know if you know my single
(11:46):
.
Everybody's Gonna Say that it'sso Bad.
You know that tune.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
Absolutely Great song .
Speaker 2 (11:54):
That was the first release, but it didn't really do
anything.
It's a big hit over here.
Now, though, they just releasedit again on vinyl.
Everything's going to be allright, so it survived the test
of time.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
Yeah, that's great.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
So Andrew brought Mike in to produce Bird Cutting
the Deepest.
Yeah, and it was a hit.
It was a big hit.
It was in the state in thecharts.
Yeah, and it was, and and itwas a hit.
It was a big hit.
It was in the state in thechart about 10, 12 weeks.
It wasn't as big a hit as itcould have been because, uh,
immediate was had a lot ofdistribution problems back there
(12:30):
in those days, but I recordedit 10 years before Rod, not sure
if Sheryl Crow was born or not,but you know they made the.
You know later days theyactually got paid.
You know everybody in the 60sgot ripped off.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
Yeah, that's really sad.
I've heard all those stories.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
With your body of work and everything that you've
done over the years.
What's some of the things thatjust stand out to you that
you'll never forget?
Speaker 2 (13:05):
I'll never forget that experience of being a young
, really naive, young blackAmerican girl from Watts, coming
to the UK and coming out of thecivil rights revolution to the
rock and roll revolution thatwas happening here in the UK and
(13:27):
being such a big part of that.
Yeah, those years and becominga solo artist, I didn't know, it
wasn't even my vision at thetime, it was Andrew's vision.
I just loved to sing.
So, yeah, so those years ofbeing through that, and all my
friendships and all therelationships with Mick and
(13:50):
Steve Marion and Jimmy, jimmyHendrix, jimmy came and you know
and God planned it that welived right around the corner
from each other, just byaccident, you know.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
Oh yeah, and some of the tours that you was in, it
was just outstanding.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
I was a part of that whole scene, that whole 60s
scene, you know, and my band,the Nice.
Keith Emerson was my musicaldirector for the Nice and I had
a few bands, but the Nice wasthe well-known band that worked
alongside all the big rock androll Pink Floyd, you know
(14:29):
everybody, Jeff Beck, all of theyou know, I was part of that.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
Yeah, and that was just an awesome time to be alive
.
If we fast forward a little bit, barry Gibb actually produced
some music for you as well.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
Right, he really did.
Immediate folded.
You know, immediate recordswent bankrupt.
Have you read my book the SoulSurvival?
Speaker 1 (14:53):
No, I'm going to have to get that.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
We'll have to get you a soul copy of that because it
has the whole story.
When Immediate folded my friendJames Morris, who later became
my husband.
He worked for Robert Stigwood.
He was like a Robert's personalassistant driver, everything.
That's how I met Barry.
(15:15):
Barry was a big fan of myversion of to love somebody.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
Oh, okay.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
Yeah.
So he wanted to meet me and heand Jim were like really close.
So that's how I met Barry, andat the time the Bee Gees had
split up, the brothers had splitup, and so I was at a
crossroads.
Barry was at a crossroads.
He loved my voice so he wantedto.
(15:42):
Instead of just like being inall the politics that was going
on at the time, with the familypolitics, he wanted to produce
me.
We just, you know, we wouldjust spend days together and
songs run like a river throughhim.
All of those songs that we didon the Turning Tide album.
(16:02):
We produced those, he producedthose, and there was a lot of
politics.
Oh yeah, Of course Robert wantedBarry.
He didn't want him producing me, he wanted him producing his
brother, to be back with hisbrothers, which I did too.
I was a big BG fan, you know.
So in a way I got kind ofcaught in the middle of those
(16:25):
politics.
Anyway, it's a long story, it'sall in the book.
So Barry had a plan.
Ahmaud Arden came to town.
Barry invited Ahmaud to dinnerone evening.
Stingy came, but Stingy didn'tknow Barry's plans.
After dinner he pulled out theguitar and we did sing some of
(16:47):
the songs that we had beenworking on together and Ahmaud
goes Stingy, this girl is great.
And Stingy goes yes, yes, yes,we're dealing with the paperwork
right now, right, but of coursehe had, and he wasn't really
happy about signing me, you know.
(17:07):
But he did because I'm a greatidea and you know, Polydor,
London and Atlantic in theStates.
I mean, that was like for me,like a dream come true.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
Yeah, I get that for sure.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
You know, things didn't really work out.
We recorded, I think, the trackBury Me Down by the River was
really in the States, butbecause there wasn't an album
following it and everythingtogether, I didn't really get
the airplay and I think hewasn't really pushing that,
basically.
Anyway, what happened is like,at the end of the day, those
(17:42):
recordings got put on the show.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
Yeah, that's too bad.
Unfortunately, that does happenthough.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Eric Clapton was also signed to Robert Stigwood and
even though Stiggy was managingme his will, you know, but he
didn't dump me straight away.
He didn't dump me straight away.
He put me on the tour.
I opened up the Eric Clapton,delaney and Bonnie tour here in
the early 70s.
(18:09):
Yeah, I put together Steve Howewas on guitar, playing guitar
with me, ashton Gardner and TonyAshton and Kim Gardner and,
yeah, those guys were my rhythmsection and I had Leslie Duncan
and Kay Garner and we opened upthe tour.
(18:29):
I was open for that tour and sothat was a great opportunity.
So I thought, oh well, I'mgoing to get back to recording
and being live again, becausethere was a lot that had
happened during that period.
Yeah, stingy didn't like thosetracks.
After the tour, we got Eric toproduce and we did those great
(18:49):
covers Brand New Day great coverof Brand New Day you Can't
Always Get what you Want and theMedicaid and Food Tracks.
Those tracks got put on theshelf as well.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
Wow, yeah, that's just so bad.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
I fought for 50 years to get the right to release
that music.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
yeah, yeah, it's amazing how this business
operates.
At times it's pretty sad.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
Now you recorded with Small Faces and ultimately, at
some point, recorded with RodStewart as well, right?
Speaker 2 (19:21):
I recorded with the Small Faces in 67, 68.
I recorded 10 Soldier.
You know that track, 10 Soldier, yeah, Okay, so that's me on 10
Soldier.
And they also played onEverything's Gonna Be Alright.
They played and sang on thatand then they produced my track.
(19:43):
If you Think You're Groovy,those are the things we did at
Immediate.
But I worked with Steve allthrough the years, right up with
Pack of the Three, and Irecorded stuff with them, with
Humble, with Steve, and thenright up until before, right
before Steve passed away all hissolo albums.
After that, Rod Stewart, Uh-oh,Okay, Mick had the idea of
(20:11):
producing Rod and I together todo like Otis Redding, Carla
Thomas type duet kind of vibe.
That's what we were doing.
But Rod was a nightmare duringthose sessions.
We did that track and we did ohGod, what's the name of the
track Working on a coal minegoing that Leroy Dorothy track
(20:34):
Working on a Coal Mine.
We recorded that track andthat's never.
I don't know what happened tothat.
Mick was so annoyed at Rodduring those sessions because
Rod was so difficult to workwith.
We first started recording thesong.
It was too low for me.
Then we decided Rod, no, westarted recording it.
(20:55):
Rod didn't like the key that hewas singing in so we changed
the key so it made it too lowfor me.
So once I got into that low keyand when I was sounding good in
the low key, he wanted tochange the key again.
So he changed the key so it wasway too high.
(21:16):
So that's why when you hearthat track, Come On, Baby, I'm
singing that high, that top bit.
So once I got into that, it'shappening.
It wasn't happening.
So whoa, that was it.
Make it add enough.
The session done.
Make walked out.
That's why that track was neverreleased properly.
Speaker 1 (21:35):
Yeah, that's too bad, because it did get released.
It just didn't go where itshould have Just hit the top 100
.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
Did it get to the top 100?
I never knew it went to the top100.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
Yeah, it did get into the top 100, I think around 91
or so, and that was in the UK.
It just didn't go high as itshould have.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
I don't know nothing about that.
You just told me something thatI don't even know.
You know because all I know isthat I found out that the track
had been released on some ofRod's album.
It was like as if I was abacking singer on the track.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
Oh, wow, yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
And I said you just told me something that I didn't
know.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
Yeah, it's documented as 2005 release went to number
93 in the UK.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
I never heard that, but I will definitely check that
out and see what that is.
Wow, yeah, and so that was theend of me and Rod's recording
relationship together.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
So what's on the schedule now?
You're out there promoting yourbook.
I think you're doing someperformances.
What's coming up for you?
Speaker 2 (22:38):
Okay, do you know about the New Adventures album,
the New Adventures of PP Arnold?
Speaker 1 (22:44):
I don't know a lot about it, but I have heard about
it.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
This is the New Adventures of PP Arnold album.
Okay, and it has lots of stuff.
Garrett Mankovich did all theartwork and he did all the
photos, like he did for like theearly ones, and it has all the
sleeves.
It's a double album and it wasproduced by Steve Kravitz of
(23:07):
Ocean Color Scenes.
So I got Paul Welling it waslike mixed.
Then we recorded it in Steve'sstudio in Devon but it was mixed
at Black Barn, paul Weller'sstudio and I've got a couple of
Paul tunes on here Shoot theDove.
You know that tune, shoot theDove.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
Yes, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (23:27):
And when I was your picture that Paul and I do
things together on there.
I'm getting ready to do a duetwith Paul for this new album.
So this is live in Liverpool.
This is being released on the18th of October.
So it's like the live album.
We toured the New Adventuresalbum in 2019 before the
(23:49):
pandemic.
It's released on Ear Music.
The last concert that we did,dean toured with me and musical
directed the band.
We had a great band with hornsand girls and everything.
He did that.
So this is the live versionlive in Liverpool gig that we
(24:10):
did when we were touring the NewAdventures album and it was
recorded at the Grand CentralHall in Liverpool.
Yeah, it's my first and it'sthe only live album I've ever
done and I'm really, really,really, really proud of it and
it sounds great.
We've also got the guys fromthe specials.
(24:31):
Marcus Ferrari mixed it.
He's the engineer that went outon the road with us and he
recorded it.
We mixed it here recently.
But the specials the guys, thehorn players, the guitar players
some of the specials areplaying on that and, yeah, it's
pretty awesome.
My son, kojo Samuel.
(24:52):
We wrote I Believe and Hold OnTo your Dreams, the two tracks
that I wrote with my son onthere and everybody loved those
tracks and grandma's still outhere going strong.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
Yeah, gotta say it's just great that you're still out
there doing what you love to do.
Speaker 2 (25:11):
Oh, that's my happy place.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
Oh yeah, I understand that Mine too.
How can people find you?
Speaker 2 (25:17):
Well, they can find me.
I have a website, wwwpparnocom.
I'm on Facebook, I'm onInstagram, I'm on Twitter, on
YouTube, all over YouTube, ifyou want to see like a lot of
history, and all you have to dois Google me.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
Absolutely, and I'm sure they will.
This has been just fantastic.
I really appreciate you comingon.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
Well, thank you for having me.
God bless Lots of love, okay,cheers.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
Thanks again.
Thanks for joining us today.
We hope you enjoyed the show.
This has been a Tony Mantourproduction.
For more information, contactmedia at platomusiccom.
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