"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 Ann Lee Peebles (born April 27, 1947) is an American retired singer and songwriter who gained popularity for her Memphis soul albums of the 1970s while signed to Hi Records. Her most successful singles include " I Can't Stand the Rain", which s ...

. The song was also a hit in 1984 for English singer

Paul Young Paul Antony Young (born 17 January 1956) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Formerly the frontman of the short-lived bands Kat Kool & the Kool Cats, Streetband and Q-Tips, he became a teen idol with his solo success in the 1980s. H ...

Ann Peebles version

Produced by Willie Mitchell and with performances by the

Hi Rhythm Section 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, bassi ...

, Ann Peebles' recording was made at the

Royal Studios 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. It is widely known for producer, recording artist and owne ...

on South Lauderdale Avenue in Memphis. It was issued as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

on the Hi label in January 1973. It reached no.31 on the US

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

, and "bubbled under" the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

, reaching no.111. The track was also included on her 1974 album '' I Can't Stand the Rain''. Writer Craig Werner said:

Like the most powerful gospel soul from the early sixties, "I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down" serves notice on a cheating lover (white America? the brothers in the Black Panther movement?) that the free ride has come to an end. It's a restatement of the revolutionary gospel anthem " Samson and Delilah," and the message, on every level, is the same: "If I had my way, I would tear this building down."

Later versions

* The song was later recorded by Graham Parker and the Rumour on their 1977 album ''

Stick to Me ''Stick to Me'' is the third studio album by English singer-songwriter Graham Parker and the Rumour, released in 1977. Background Parker, interviewed by Steve Hammer, recalled the making of the album: Critical reception ''Rolling Stone'' c ...

''. * A cover version appeared on an album called Love Blind by Morty in 1980. Morty was the vocalist with Racing Cars, a South Wales-based band. This was Morty's only solo album. * A

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

reached no. 9 on the UK singles chart in 1984, and no.13 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 when re-released the following year.SecondhandSongs.com
Retrieved June 29, 2014 It was included on Young's album '' The Secret of Association'' (1985).

Samples

* The Ann Peebles' version of "I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down" was sampled in the track "The Plan" by

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop collective formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its members include RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and, until his death in 2004, O ...

affiliated group

Sunz of Man Sunz of Man is a New York–based List of Wu-Tang Clan affiliates, Wu-Tang Clan-affiliated group that currently consists of Prodigal Sunn, Killah Priest, Hell Razah, and 60 Second Assassin (emcee), 60-Second Assassin. The group's first incarna ...

on their album '' The Last Shall Be First'' (1998).

Charts

Ann Peebles Paul Young

References

{{authority control 1972 songs 1973 singles 1984 singles Paul Young songs Graham Parker songs Song recordings produced by Willie Mitchell (musician) Hi Records singles Columbia Records singles