Celebrating over 50 years
Ann Peebles
Recovered from the Hi Records vault, untouched for decades. Now fully remastered.
In Stores September 11, 2026
Ann Peebles was at the height of her fame in 1975 when she cut the album Tellin' It -- she had scored her biggest chart hit the year before with "I Can't Stand the Rain," and Tellin' It reflected the kind of hard-edged but soulful groove that had taken Peebles to the upper reaches of the charts (and was producer Willie Mitchell's stock in trade).
The album's opening cut, "Come to Mama," even features the same sort of fractured rhythmic undercurrent that had hooked "I Can't Stand the Rain," but Peebles and Mitchell had the good sense not to deliver ten remakes of her hit; instead, Tellin' It merges polished production with tough, sinewy grooves (the strings on "Stand By Woman" and "It Was Jealousy" add a touch of class, but don't clutter up the funk of Howard Grimes' superb drumming and the punch of the Memphis Horns), and Peebles here reaffirms her status as one of the best female voices in R&B, cutting to the heart and soul of each lyric whether she's looking for a new man ("Doctor Love Power") or breaking up someone's previously happy home ("Stand By Woman").
And while the disco explosion would make soul sets like this obsolete in a few years, Tellin' It features plenty of cuts that can fill the dancefloor without robbing Peebles of her soulful passion and sassy spirit. Fine stuff.
© Mark Deming /TiVo
"A year on from the heights of "I Can't Stand the Rain," Peebles returned with Tellin' It, bearing the same kind of rhythmic sophistication that underpinned Rain's finest cuts."
"Peebles and Mitchell don't just recast "Rain" 10 different times—instead, they lean into the supple support laid down by the Hi Rhythm Section, who have plenty more uptempo grooves to offer."
— Andy Beta, Bandcamp
Available Sept. 11, 2026
In Record Stores Everywhere
Recovered from the Hi Records vault, untouched for decades, the tapes were sent to Nashville Tape Transfer for their first listen in fifty years. From there, every step stayed close to home: Remastering by Clay Jones, lacquers cut by Jeff Powell at Take Out Vinyl, plated and pressed right in Memphis at Memphis Record Pressing.
Tracklist
Side A
-
Come To Mama 2:52
Written-By – E. Randle, W. Mitchell
-
I Don't Lend My Man 2:48
Written-By – C. Robinson, E. Randle, W. Mitchell
-
I Needed Somebody 4:56
Written-By – A. Peebles, D. Bryant
-
Stand By Woman 3:02
Written-By – E. Randle, O. Roberts
-
It Was Jealousy 2:56
Written-By – D. Bryant
Side B
-
Doctor Love Power 3:06
Written-By – D. Oliver, G. Anderson
-
You Can't Hold A Man 4:33
Written-By – E. Randle, W. Mitchell
-
Beware 3:00
Written-By – E. Randle
-
Put Yourself In My Place 2:37
Written-By – B. Jarrett, E. Randle
-
Love Played A Game 2:24
Written-By – A. Peebles, D. Bryant, F. Hodges
Photo by Theo Pelletier
- Producer, Engineer, String Arrangements
- Willie Mitchell
- Recorded at
- Royal Studios - Memphis, TN
- Mastered By
- Howard Craft - Memphis, TN
- Remastered from original tapes By
- Clay Jones - Taylor, MS
- Tape Transfer
- John Nicholson - Nashville, TN
- Lacquers Cut by
- Jeff Powell - Memphis, TN
- Plated & Pressed at
- Memphis Record Pressing
- String Arrangement, Baritone Saxophone
- James Mitchell
- Backing Vocals
- Duncan Sisters, Rhodes, Chalmers & Rhodes
- Bass
- Leroy Hodges
- Drums
- Howard Grimes
- Guitar
- Teenie Hodges
- Organ, Piano
- Charles Hodges
- Piano
- Archie Turner
- Strings
- The Memphis Strings
- Tenor Saxophone
- Andrew Love, Lewis Collins
- Trombone
- Jack Hale
- Trumpet
- Wayne Jackson
- Art Direction, Design
- Richard Kriegler
- Photography By
- Bob Levy, Buddy Rosenberg
Remastered Audio Is Also Available To Stream Everywhere
Bandcamp · Spotify · Apple Music · Tidal · Qobuz · Deezer · Amazon Music · YouTube
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