P. P. Arnold Bio
Patricia Ann Cole, known professionally as P. P. Arnold, is an American-born, British-based soul singer born on 3 October 1946 in Los Angeles, California. She began her professional career in 1965 as an Ikette with the Ike & Tina Turner Revue and relocated to London in 1966 to pursue a solo career. Arnold achieved commercial success in the United Kingdom with hits such as “The First Cut Is the Deepest” (1967) and “Angel of the Morning” (1968), and has maintained a long career working with major artists including the Small Faces, Nick Drake, Peter Gabriel, and Roger Waters.
Over several decades, P. P. Arnold built a reputation as both a solo artist and a sought-after backing vocalist, contributing to recordings across soul, rock, and pop. Her later solo work includes the album The Turning Tide (2017) and The New Adventures of…P. P. Arnold (2019). She is widely regarded as a respected voice in British soul music.
Early Life and Background
Patricia Ann Cole was born on 3 October 1946 in Los Angeles, California, into a family of gospel singers. She grew up in the African-American Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, where she was surrounded by music from an early age. Arnold performed as a vocal soloist for the first time when she was four years old, demonstrating an early interest in singing that would shape her future career.
She married young and had two children, Kevin and Debbie, with her first husband. Arnold worked two jobs during this period, one in an office and the other in food manufacturing, while raising her family. Her early life in Los Angeles provided the foundation for her later entry into professional music, and her gospel-rooted upbringing influenced her vocal style.
Arnold credited her friendship with Tina Turner, which began in 1964, as a key factor in launching her professional singing career. In 1965, Maxine Smith, an ex-girlfriend of her brother, contacted her with an opportunity that would change the course of her life.
Path to Music
P. P. Arnold’s entry into professional music came in 1965, when Maxine Smith and her friend Gloria Scott arranged an audition for the three of them to replace the original Ikettes, the dancer and singer troupe that accompanied the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. Smith encouraged Arnold to attend, knowing her singing ability. The three young women were offered the job on the spot. After attending a concert in Fresno that night and arriving home at 6:00 the following morning to find her husband angry, Arnold left him immediately and, after placing her children in the care of her parents, joined the Ike & Tina Turner Revue.
As an Ikette, Arnold sang lead on the 1966 single “What’cha Gonna Do (When I Leave You)”, backed by Brenda Holloway and Patrice Holloway for Phil Spector’s Phi-Dan Records. She also sang backing vocals on the Ike Turner produced side of the album River Deep – Mountain High and appeared in the 1966 concert film The Big T.N.T. Show. That same year, Arnold quit the Ike & Tina Turner Revue after their UK tour with the Rolling Stones, choosing to remain in London to establish a solo career with the encouragement of Mick Jagger.
Her friendship with Jagger helped her land a solo contract with Immediate Records, a label founded by Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham. Arnold later noted the difference between how she had been treated in America and how she was received in England, observing that a young black woman on her own in a white environment would not have been treated as well in America as she was in England.
P. P. Arnold Career
Early Career (1965–1966)
P. P. Arnold’s first notable work came in 1965 as a member of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, where she served as an Ikette. Her early achievements included singing lead on the 1966 single “What’cha Gonna Do (When I Leave You)” and contributing backing vocals to the Ike Turner produced side of River Deep – Mountain High. She also appeared in the 1966 concert film The Big T.N.T. Show, gaining early exposure that would help launch her solo career.
During this period, Arnold developed the professional foundation that would carry her into a successful solo trajectory. Her work with the Ike & Tina Turner Revue brought her into contact with major figures in the music industry, including Mick Jagger, whose encouragement led her to remain in London and pursue a solo path.
Breakthrough (1966–1970)
Arnold’s breakthrough came after signing with Immediate Records, where she enjoyed several major British hits. She released the solo album The First Lady of Immediate, which included songs written for her by Paul Korda, including “The Time Has Come”. She also recorded songs written by Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane of the Small Faces, who backed her on several recordings. Arnold had a brief romantic liaison with Marriott in 1967, toured with the Small Faces during 1967–68, made several television appearances with them, and featured as backing vocalist on two of their biggest hits, “Itchycoo Park” and “Tin Soldier”.
In 1968, she released the ambitious solo album Kafunta, with orchestral arrangements by John Paul Jones and including self-penned songs and covers such as “Angel of the Morning” and “Eleanor Rigby”. She also recorded a duet with Rod Stewart on the single “Come Home Baby”, produced by Mick Jagger on Immediate Records, with Ron Wood on guitar, Keith Richards on bass, Nicky Hopkins on electric piano, Keith Emerson on Hammond organ, and the Georgie Fame Brass Section. Other credits in this period included Chris Farlowe’s version of the Motown standard “Reach Out (I’ll Be There)” with Albert Lee on guitar and Carl Palmer on drums.
Her first backing band, the Blue Jays, had been inherited from American soul singer Ronnie Jones and included former Bluesbreakers guitarist Roger Dean. This was followed by the Nice, whose line-up was Keith Emerson on organ, David O’List on guitar, Lee Jackson on bass, and Ian Hague on drums. During this period, Arnold scored several hits, including the original version of Cat Stevens’ song “The First Cut Is the Deepest” and “Angel of the Morning”, plus the Marriott-Lane song “(If You Think You’re) Groovy”.
After the collapse of Immediate Records in the late 1960s, Arnold signed a production contract with the Robert Stigwood Organisation and released two singles on the Polydor label, produced by Barry Gibb. Between 1969 and 1970, she recorded eleven songs produced by Gibb himself, though only two, “Bury Me Down By the River” and “Give a Hand, Take a Hand”, were released at the time. In February 1970, she sang harmony vocals on the song “Born” included on Gibb’s debut solo album The Kid’s No Good.
Notable Works and Milestones
Arnold’s signature work includes her original version of “The First Cut Is the Deepest” (1967) and “Angel of the Morning” (1968), both of which became major British hits. Her albums The First Lady of Immediate and Kafunta remain landmark recordings in British soul music, and her later albums The Turning Tide (2017) and The New Adventures of…P. P. Arnold (2019) reaffirmed her status as a vital artistic voice.
P. P. Arnold Award Nominations
Specific nominations for P. P. Arnold across her career are not clearly documented in the available sources.
P. P. Arnold Awards Won
Specific awards won by P. P. Arnold across her career are not clearly documented in the available sources.
P. P. Arnold Family
P. P. Arnold has three children. She had two children, Kevin and Debbie, with her first husband. She also has a son, Kodzo, from her relationship with musician Calvin “Fuzzy” Samuel. Kodzo is the musical director for Jessie J and Jess Glynne and is credited as a songwriter on Arnold’s 2019 album The New Adventures of…P. P. Arnold.
Personal Life
Arnold became pregnant at the age of 15, which resulted in her first marriage. She had two children, Kevin and Debbie, with her first husband, who was abusive. She left him to become an Ikette while her mother cared for her children. Her daughter Debbie died in the mid-1970s in a car accident, a loss that caused Arnold to withdraw from public life for some time before returning in 1978.
Arnold married her second husband, Jim Morris, at Guildford Town Hall in Surrey in 1968, with Barry Gibb serving as the best man. Morris worked for Robert Stigwood as a driver and assistant. They divorced after two years but remained friends. Arnold has a son, Kodzo, from her relationship with musician Calvin “Fuzzy” Samuel.