Willie Mitchell's Hi Recordings Compiled on the Right Stuff

Father of Memphis R&B, Best Known as Al Green's Producer, Carved Rich Legacy on Hi Label in '50s -'70s, Soon Available on One CD

August 4, 1999 - Willie Mitchell has worn many hats throughout his career: producer (of artists like Al Green, Ann Peebles, Syl Johnson, Otis Clay and more), arranger, bandleader and trumpeter. He is often acknowledged as the father of the much-emulated Hi Records sound - fervid church-rooted vocals, swirling organ fills, chugging horn arrangements and steady 4/4 drums. The long overdue compilation of his own recordings, 'Soul Serenade: The Best Of Willie Mitchell' on The Right Stuff (distributed by EMI Music Distribution), focuses on Mitchell as an instrumental recording artist in the '60s and '70s for Memphis' legendary Hi Records label. The collection, compiled and annotated by blues/R&B historian Bill Dahl, will hit streets on October 5.

Mississippi-born Willie Mitchell grew up in Memphis and learned trumpet, his primary instrument, from a cousin in Detroit. Returning to Memphis from an Army hitch in 1954, Mitchell formed a club band among whose fans was Elvis Presley, who hired them repeatedly to play his private parties in town. Mitchell recorded first for House of Sound Records and later for the Stomper Time label, for whom he recorded the first version of his classic "The Crawl."

Mitchell in 1959 switched labels to Hi Records - then known as an outpost for post-rockabilly instrumental hits by artists like Bill Black and Ace Cannon - where he re-recorded "The Crawl." His output was prolific from the start, but it took until 1964 for Mitchell to reap his first pop crossover hit with a song called "20-75" (so named as the single was Hi Records catalogue number 2075) which placed #31 on Billboard's pop singles chart. He exceeded that success with 1968's "Soul Serenade," which charted #23 pop on Billboard, establishing him with pop audiences.

By then, Mitchell had assembled an A-team of Memphis studio musicians including Leroy Hodges, bass; "Teenie" Hodges, guitar; Charles Hodges, organ; and Howard Grimes, drums. When he began to produce Hi artists like O.V Wright and Syl Johnson, and moonlight projects by Denise LaSalle and the Detroit Emeralds, it is this ensemble that came to define the "Willie Mitchell sound." Hi's Royal Recording Co. studio, located around the corner from Stax in what's been called "America's most soulful neighbourhood," became a hit making hub. So when a singer from Texas by way of Michigan named Al Green appeared on Mitchell's doorstep in 1970, systems were in order to help this gifted young vocalist to find his voice. Mitchell produced all of Green's Hi hits including "Can't Get Next To You," "Tired Of Being Alone," "I'm So In Love With You," "Let's Stay Together," "Love & Happiness" and more.

Hi Records founder Joe Cuoghi died in 1970, leaving Willie Mitchell in charge of the label. His solo recordings continued but began to slow as his production tasks accelerated. But the Hi era was about to grind to a halt. Cream Records, a late '70s West Coast upstart indie, had purchased Hi. Frustrated with absentee management, Mitchell left Hi/Cream in 1979 to pursue other projects. He still makes records for his Way-Lo label at Royal Recording on Memphis' South Lauderdale Avenue, and operates his own Beale Street nightclub, Willie Mitchell's Legends.

'Soul Serenade: The Best Of Willie Mitchell' on The Right Stuff hones in on Mitchell's original material and hits of the '50s-'70s, foregoing the many interesting cover tunes that peppered his Hi Records solo albums. Present on the collection are hits like "Soul Serenade," "20-75," "The Crawl," "Buster Browne," "Up Hard," "Percolatin'" and "Teenie's Dream" - 20 titles in all.

As reissue compiler/annotator Bill Dahl writes, "(These songs) add up to a stunning Memphis soul legacy overflowing with in-the-pocket innovation that would leave Willie Mitchell standing tall in the annals of R&B history even if he'd never crossed paths with Al Green."

The Right Stuff, distributed by EMI Music Distribution, has won acclaim for its R&B reissue program encompassing such labels as Hi, Philadelphia International and Solar. Prior Hi Records reissues from The Right Stuff have included all individual Al Green albums (including the platinum Al Green's Greatest Hits); the Al Green Anthology box set; Hi Times: The R&B Years box set, an anthology of Hi artists; plus definitive volumes of Hi recordings by Ann Peebles, Otis Clay and Syl Johnson. Still to come are individual albums from Ace Cannon and Bill Black, an Al Green gospel compilation, plus a Hi rockabilly collection.

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