Tony Mantor's : Almost Live..... Nashville - PP Arnold: A Soulful Journey Through Music History

Episode Date: December 18, 2024

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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

My career in the entertainment industry has enabled me to work with a diverse range of talent from up-and-coming artists to establish celebrities. Through my years of experience, I've recognized two essential aspects. Industry professionals, whether famous stars, up-and-coming talent, or behind-the-scenes staff, have fascinating stories to tell. Secondly, audiences are eager to listen to these stories, which offer a glimpse into their lives and the evolution of their life stories. This podcast aims to share these narratives, providing information on how they evolved into their chosen career. We will delve into their journey to stardom, discuss their struggles and successes, and hear from people who help them achieve their goals. Get ready for intriguing behind-the-scenes stories and insights into the fascinating world of entertainment. Hi, I'm Tony Mantor. Welcome to Almost Live Nashville.

Joining us today is P.P. Arnold, an accomplished American. American soul singer who launched her career with Ike and Tina Turner. Her next move was to London, where she established a successful solo career, becoming the first artist to record, the first cut is the deepest. Another big record she had was Angel of the Morning. We appreciate her taking the time to share her inspiring story. Thanks for coming on. Well, thank you for having me. Oh, it's my pleasure. I'm really happy to have you on. It's my understanding when you started singing, that was not your plan. How did you get into the entertainment business? My story was not one of having an ambition to be a professional singer or to be in the music industry. I'm doing some shows now

intimate evening with P.P. Arnold for my soul survivor, my book, Soul Survival. This show, it's more of a theatrical show. I tell the story, and I take it all the way back to my gospel roots. I tell them about how most people know me from coming to the UK with the I Continu Turner Review. What they don't know is that I've been singing all my night and that I was born into a family of gospel singers and that my parents moved from Tyler, Texas to Los Angeles, in 1943 to escape the Jim Crow racism and segregation, right? Is that when you started your singing?

My grandmother and my Aunt Catherine created the Full Gospel Baptist Church. We used to have services in Aunt Catherine's living room. That's where I starred my show. When people come into the theater, they're hearing me, and I've done this whole thing, you know. I've done it from the root, and I've stacked all the harmonies, so it sounds like my family in Anne Catherine's living room,

and I'm singing like, I know the Lord he heard my cry, he'd every mom. And all the harmonies come in, you know. I love the Lord. Oh, yeah, that's great. Sounds really good, and you're still singing good. That's awesome.

I put the whole thing, you know, to having New Year's and, you know, and yeah, so when people come into that theater, that's what they're hearing, even before I come on stage. Oh, that's great. And then I walk on stage singing Wade in the Water, you know, And I do wait in the water, and then I talk about the whole thing of like, and Captain's Living Room, and these, you know, they've heard some of the songs that we sang. And how old was you when you was doing that?

I started singing at the age of four, and I sing my little song that I sang, we part the little jazz in the army. I do that, and this little light of mine that I used to do with my siblings. and then I opened it up. Oh yeah, that's just so nice. Great story and just really inspiring. And it wasn't long after that that Ike and Tina Turner showed up for you. So like when Ike and Tina came knocking for me, I never looked with stardom.

And I never had that ambition to be in the industry or be a professional singer. Yeah, that's great. And I think that you was doing really well in school at that time too, right? I was an honor roll student on my way to being a legal secretary. But at the age of 17, I had been married for two years. I was trapped in a marriage that was physically and mentally abusive. Yeah, that's too bad. So I tell that story of being in my laundry home that Sunday morning and reminiscing.

Here in my father's, quote, when you make you bed hard, you got to lie. So I was kind of lying in my heartbed, reminiscing about what it used to be like. Sunday mornings used to be about getting up, going to church, teach the Sunday school, and marching in the church, written by choir rooms, singing, walk in the life, you know. I was like in there that morning, and I actually said a prayer. I asked God to show me a way out of the situation that I was in. I knew I brought it all on myself, but I was afraid. And I've asked God for help.

Well, there's nothing wrong with that, and it looks like he answered your prayer. And I went in the house, phone rang, girlfriend of my brother, Maxine Smith, her and another girl, Gloria Scott, who you might know of Gloria Scott, you might have heard Gloria. Yeah, sure. They call me in a panic. Gloria was already an eye kid. She knew, you know, Ike Turner was very shrewd. He had two cents of a baghead. He had a set that went out on the road with the review

and another set that he sent out on the Dick Clark tour. So Gloria sang with this B group. So Gloria knew that the other girls were leaving. So she wanted that gig. So she had brought Maxine in. And then that urban girl that was supposed to go with them didn't show up. So they called me out of desperation. So Maxine, you know, I can't go.

You know, David, my husband's not going to let me go. And she goes, I will tell him anything. We're coming to get you at 30 minutes. Bam, she hung up the phone. Yeah. And 30 minutes, she was there. And I had like to put my new hair in it, feather hair, because my hair was all messed up and everything.

I was still in my house clothes when they came. Next thing I know, two hours later, I'm in there. I can't Tina's living room singing dancing in the street. Wow, that's impressive. Well, you know, Tina goes, right, girl, you got the kid. I go like, oh, no, not me. I'm not growing up in big trouble. I should have been home two hours ago.

I told my husband a lie to get him the babysit. Tina said, well, so I said to Tina, I'm going to get my butt kick when I get home. Tina said to me, well, if you're going to get your butt kicked for nothing, why don't you ride up to Fresno with us and at least see the gate? I was under Tina Turner. She was so beautiful and she was right because I was going to get my butt kicked. But I was like under her spell. And that day had kind of taken on a life of it.

So I go, I see the show, you know, it's just the most amazing thing I've ever seen in my whole life. come back home, I get my butt kick. I remember my prayer. I realized that God had answered my prayer, and I believe that he was showing me the way out. So that's how I got into your business. Wow, that's great. What a story. Who was your inspiration that you liked listening to? Aretha Franklin was my inspiration for singing, period, you know, as a little girl, and rethink of the gospel, you know. Oh, yeah, she was great, no doubt about it. How long was you with Icon Tina Turner before you decided that you needed to take and expand and go on your own?

Well, I toured with Iconina for two years from 64 to 66. Okay. So I was with them when they had River Deep Mountain High. Right. After it had flopped in America, when it was a big hit in the UK, and then they got the opportunity to support the stove on their 1966 tours. So I just happened to be with the review at that time when we came to the U.K., 166 Rolling Stones, too.

So Mick Jagger and you became friends, right? And that was a big part of why you made you move and stayed over in the UK? Well, the stones, I would say, okay, while I was on tour, Mick Jagger and I became friends. Right. And so it wasn't actually the Stones is why I stayed. I stayed because Stone's manager had immediate records, which was one of the first independent record labels there here.

There, yeah. Mick and Andrew invited me to stay in the UK and sign to the immediate record label. And once again, you know, I had never even planned on being in the business. And I certainly never planned on being a solo artist. But there was a lot of things going on. It was Icontina, you know, the stuff that was going on. And I was planning on leaving. I didn't know how I would keep going.

I hadn't even thought about it. But I was planning on leaving the review when we got back to the state. So what happened next then? They offered me this opportunity to stay in the UK and signed to the immediate record label. And that's what it did. And that was the beginning. Yeah, and what a great beginning.

When you cut, the first cut is the deepest, was that song written for you or pitched to you? As if it was written for me, but it was pitched to me. And it was really as if Steve, as we call it, Yousef now. I only just, I just recently got a chance we did a show doing a do-a-end,

the first cut in the deepest for the very first time together. Wow, that must have been great. That was just mind-blown, really. Yeah, he pitched that song. Mike Hurst pitched a song. Mike Hurst produced it, and Mike was producing Yusuf, Kat, at the time, and he brought the song to the table.

Because the actual first single that I released, I don't know if you know my single, So everybody's gone and said that is stuff like that. You know that too? Absolutely. Great song. That was the first release, but it didn't really do anything. It's a big hit over here now, though.

They just released it again on vinyl. Everything's going to be all right. So it's survived the test of time. Yeah, that's great. So Andrew brought Mike in to produce first cutting the deepest. Yeah, and it was a hit. It was a big hit. It was in the state and the chart about 10, 12 weeks.

It wasn't as big a hit as it could have been because immediate had a lot of distribution problems back there in those days. But I recorded it 10 years before Rod. Not sure if Cheryl Crowe was born or not. But, you know, they made, you know, they made. And, you know, later days, they actually got paid. You know, everybody in the 60s got ripped off. Yeah, that's really sad.

I've heard all those stories. Yeah. With your body of work and everything that you've done over the years, what's some of the things that just stand out to that you'll never forget? I'll never forget that experience of being a young, so really naive, young, black American girls for one. coming to the UK and coming out of the civil rights revolution to the rock and roll revolution that was happening here in the UK and being such a big part of that.

Yeah, those years and becoming a solo artist, I didn't know. It wasn't even my vision at the time. It was Andrew's vision. I'd just love to see. So, yeah, so those years of being through that and all my. our friendships and all the relationships with Mick and Steve Marion and Jimmy, Jimmy Hendry, Jimmy came and, you know, and God planned it that we lived right around the corner from each other just by accident, you know. Oh yeah. And some of the tours that you was in, it was just outstanding.

I was a part of that whole scene, that whole 60 scene. You know, in my band, the nice Keith Emerson was my musical director for the Knights, and I had a few bands, but the Knights was the well-known band that worked alongside all the big rock and roll, Pink Floyd, you know, everybody, Jeff Beck, all of the, you know, I was part of that. 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. Right, he really did. Media. folded, you know, immediate records went bankrupt. Have you read my book, The Soul Survivor?

No, I'm going to have to get that. Well, that's a copy of that because it has the whole story. When immediate folded, my friend James Morris, who later became my husband, he worked for Robert Stigwood. He was like a Robert's personal assistant, driver, everything. That's how I met Barry. Barry was a big fan of my version of to love somebody. Oh, okay.

Yeah, so he wanted to meet me. And he and Jim were like really close. So that's how I met Barry. And at the time, the BGs had split up, the brothers had split up. And so I was at a crossroads. Barry was at a crossroads. He loved my voice. So he wanted to, instead of just like being in all the politics that was going,

on at the time with the family politics, he wanted to produce me. Nice. We just, you know, we would just spend days together and songs run like a river through him. All of those songs that we did on the Turning Tide album, we produced those, he produced those, and there was a lot of politics. Oh, yeah. Of course, Robert wanted Barry. He didn't want him producing me.

He wanted him producing his Broadway. be back with his brothers, which I did too. I was a big VG fan, you know. So in a way, I got kind of caught in the middle of those politics. Anyway, it's a long story. It's all in the book. So Barry had a plan. Amid Erdogan came to town. Barry invited Amit dinner one evening. Stiggy came, but Stigy didn't know Barry's plans. After dinner, he filled out the guitar and we did sang some of the songs that we had been working on together. And Ahmed goes, Tiggi, this girl is great. And they're up here.

Yeah. And Stiggy goes, yes, yes. Yes, we're dealing with the paperwork right now, right? But of course, he had. And he wasn't really happy about signing me, you know, but he did because Amit, great idea. And, you know, Polydor, London, and Atlantic in the States. I mean, that was like for me, like a dream come true.

Yeah, I get that for sure. You know, things didn't really work out. We recorded, I think the track buried me down by the river was really in the States. But because there wasn't an album following it and everything together, didn't really get the airplay. And I think he wasn't really pushing that, basically. Anyway, what happened is like at the end of the day, those recordings got put on the show. Yeah, that's too bad.

Unfortunately, that does happen, though. Eric Clapton was also signed to Robert Stig Wood. And even though Stigie was managing me, 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 at the Eric Clapton Delaney a Body tour here in the early 70s. Yeah, I put together, Steve Howe was on guitar, playing guitar with me.

Ashton Gardner and died, Tony Ashtner, and Kim Gardner. And yeah, those guys were my rhythm section. And I had Leslie Duncan and Kay Garner. And we opened up the tour. I was open for that tour. And so that was a great opportunity. So I thought, oh, well, I'm going to get back to recording and being live again because there was a lot that had happened during that period.

Yeah, Stiggy didn't like those tracks. After the tour, we got Eric to produce, and we did those great covers, brand new day, great cover of brand new day. You can't always give what you want, and the Medicaid food track. Those tracks got put on the show as well. Wow.

Yeah, that's just so bad. I fought for 50 years to get the right to release that music, yeah. Yeah, it's amazing how this business operates. at times. It's pretty sad. Yep. Now, you recorded with small faces and ultimately at some point recorded with Rod Stewart as well, right?

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 on everything's going to be

all right. They played and sang on that. And then they produced my track, if you think you're groovy. Those are the things we did at immediate, but I worked with Steve all through the years, right up the packet of three, and I've recorded stuff with them with Humble Pie,

with Steve, and then right up until before Steve passed away, all his solo albums after that. Rod Stewart. Oh, uh-oh. Okay, Mitt had the idea of producing Rod and I, together to do like Otis Redding, Carla Thomas type do-it kind of vibe. That's what we were doing.

But Rod was a nightmare during those sessions. We did that track and we did, oh God, what's the name of the track? Looking on a coal mine going, that Leroy Dorothy track, working on a coal mine. We recorded that track and that's never, I don't know what happened to that.

Make was so annoyed at Rod during those sessions because Rod was so difficult to work with. We first started recording the song. It was too low for me. Then we decided, Rod, no, we started recording it. Rod didn't like the key that he was singing in. So we changed the key so it made it too low for me. So once I got into that low key,

and when I was like sounding good in a low key, he wanted to change the key again. So he changed the key, so it's way too high. So that's why you hear that track, come on, baby. I'm singing that high, that top bit. So once I got into that, it's happening. It wasn't happy. So, oh, that number did. Make it add enough. The session done, make work out, why that track was never released properly. Yeah, that's too bad because it did get released. It just didn't go where it should have. Just hit the top 100. Did it get the top 100?

I never knew it went to the top 100. 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 it should have. I don't know nothing about that. You just told me something that I don't even know, you know, because all I know is that I found out that the track had been released on some of Rod's album.

It was like as if I was a backing singer on the track. Oh, wow. Yeah. And I'd suddenly, you just told me, You just told me something that I didn't know. Yeah, it's documented as 2005 release, went to number 93 in the U.K. I've never heard that, but I will definitely check that out and see what that is. Wow.

Yeah, and so that was the end of me and rides recording relationship together. So what's on the schedule now? You're out there promoting your book. I think you're doing some performances. What's coming up for you? Okay. Do you know about the new adventures? album, The New Adventures of P. P. P. P. Arnold.

I don't know a lot about it, but I have heard about it. This is the New Adventures of P. P. P. P. Arnold album, okay? And it has lots and stuff. Garrett Mankovic did all the artwork and he did all the photos like he did for like the early ones. And it has all the sleeves. It's a double album. And it was produced by Steve Craddock of Ocean Color Scene. So I got Paul Welling. It was like mixed. We recorded it in Steve's studio and Devin, but it was mixed at Blackburn,

Paul Weller Studio. And I've got a couple of Paul tunes on here. Shoot the Dove. You know that tune, Shoot the Dove? Yes, absolutely. And when I was your picture that Paul and I do things together on there, I'm getting ready to do a do-it with Paul for this new album.

So this is live in Liverpool. This is being released on the 18th. of October. So it's like the live album. We toured the New Adventures album in 2019 before the pandemic. It's released on ear music.

The last concert that we did, they toured with me and musical directed the band. We had a great band with horns and girls and everything. He did that. So this is the live version, live in

Liverpool gig that we did when we were touring the New Adventures album. And it was recorded at the Grand Central Hall and Liverpool. Yeah, it's my first. And it's the 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 from the special.

Marcus Ferrari mixed it. He's the engineer that went out on the road with us. And he reported it. We mixed it here recently. recently. But the specials, the guys, the horn players, the guitar players, some of the specials are playing on that. Yeah, it's pretty awesome. My son, called Joe Samuel, we wrote, I Believe, and Hold On to Your Dreams, the two tracks that I wrote with my son on there, and there really, I mean, everybody loves those tracks, and Grandma's still out here going, John.

Yeah, got to say, it's just great that you're still out there doing what you love, to do. Oh, that's my happy place. Oh yeah, I understand that. Mine too. How can people find you? Well, they can find me. I have a website, www. p.pr.arno.com. I'm on Facebook. I'm on Instagram. I'm on Twitter. On YouTube, all over YouTube, if you want to see, like, a lot of history. And all you have to do is Google me. Absolutely. And I'm sure they will. This has been just fantastic. I really appreciate you coming on. Well, thank you for having me. God bless, like to love.

Okay, cheers. Thanks again. Thanks for joining us today. We hope you enjoyed the show. This has been a Tony Mantor production. For more information, contact media at plateaumusic.com.