MEMPHIS SOUL SURVIVOR DON BRYANT’S NEW ALBUM DON’T GIVE UP ON LOVE AND HIS ORIGINAL HI RECORDS RELEASE, PRECIOUS SOUL
THAT’S RIGHT! TWO RECORDS THIS MONTH!

 

Best known as a staff songwriter under Willie Mitchell at Hi Records and as the husband of Hi star Ann Peebles, Don Bryant is also a fine, under-appreciated singer in his own right, having penned “I Can’t Stand the Rain,” for Peebles. Precious Soul is one of our all-time-favorite soul records…a Memphis classic that deserves a spot next to any of Otis Redding’s, Al Green’s, or Aretha’s records.

We’re excited to send our Record of the Month Club members Don’s new record as well as Precious Soul, which was originally released in 1969. The new album drops on May 12th, so we’ll be shipping them out around then. Sign up now for our Record of the Month Club to get in on the action.

From NPR:

More than 40 years after penning his biggest hit, Don Bryant is back in the game. Bryant — who sang in a gospel quartet before linking up with R&B bandleader Willie Mitchell and becoming a go-to songwriter at Memphis’ Hi Records — might be best known for writing the 1973 slow-cooker “I Can’t Stand The Rain” with singer Ann Peebles, whom he married shortly afterward. Now, at 74, he’s preparing to release a new album of original songs, Don’t Give Up On Love.

See a video for the first single off the new record over at NPR.

 

RollingStone recently said of the new album (read the entire feature here):

Peebles came to the studio to provide feedback as her husband worked on the new album. “That was very uplifting,” he says. “Whatever she offers as far as the songs are concerned, as far as how maybe I could try it this way or that way, I listen. She still has it.”

Her advice must have been useful on “It Was Jealousy,” a glowingly downhearted ballad that Bryant wrote for Peebles’ 1975 album Tellin’ It. This may be the pinnacle of Don’t Give Up on Love: Bryant demonstrates the full extent of his range, stretching from low, scratchy entreaties to wordless falsetto, as the band articulates delicate, languid soul behind him. “That one has always been my favorite,” Bryant says. “Otis Clay did it. Ann did it. And now, I have a chance to do it.”