William Lawrence Mitchell (March 1, 1928 – January 5, 2010) was an American trumpeter, bandleader,

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

, R&B,

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...

, pop and funk record producer and arranger who ran

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 owner ...

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

, Tennessee. He was best known for his

Hi Records Hi Records is an American soul music and rockabilly label founded in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1957 by singer Ray Harris, record store owner Joe Cuoghi, Bill Cantrell and Quinton Claunch (formerly producers for Sun Records), and three silent partne ...

label of the 1970s, which released albums by a large stable of popular Memphis soul artists, including Mitchell himself, Al Green,

O. V. Wright Overton Vertis "O. V." Wright (October 9, 1939 – November 16, 1980) was an American singer who is generally regarded as a blues artist by African-American fans in the Deep South; he is also regarded as one of Southern soul's most authoritativ ...

Syl Johnson Sylvester Johnson (born Sylvester Thompson; July 1, 1936 – February 6, 2022) was an American blues and soul singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. His most successful records included "Different Strokes" (1967), " Is It Because I' ...

Ann Peebles Ann Lee Peebles (born April 27, 1947) is an American singer and songwriter who gained celebrity for her Memphis soul albums of the 1970s for Hi Records. Two of her most popular songs are " I Can't Stand the Rain", which she wrote with her husband ...

and Quiet Elegance.

Biography

Born and raised in

Ashland, Mississippi Ashland is a town in Benton County, Mississippi, United States and the county seat. The population was 569 at the 2010 census. Ashland was incorporated on March 8, 1871, and has a Mayor-Aldermen form of government. Mitch Carroll is the 28th mayor ...

, Mitchell moved to

when he was in high school. He attended

Rust College Rust College is a private historically black college in Holly Springs, Mississippi. Founded in 1866, it is the second-oldest private college in the state. Affiliated with the United Methodist Church, it is one of ten historically black colleges ...

.Howard, David N. (2004). ''Sonic Alchemy: Visionary Music Producers and Their Maverick Recordings'', pp. 150–51. Hal Leonard Corporation. . At the age of eight, he began to play the trumpet. While in high school, he was a featured player in popular local big bands. He later formed his own combo, which from time to time included musicians such as trumpeter

Booker Little Booker Little Jr. (April 2, 1938 – October 5, 1961)
– accessed June 2010 was an American

, saxophonists Charles Lloyd, and

George Coleman George Edward Coleman (born March 8, 1935) is an American jazz saxophonist known for his work with Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock in the 1960s. In 2015, he was named an NEA Jazz Master. Early life Coleman was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He was ...

, and pianist

Phineas Newborn, Jr. Phineas Newborn Jr. (December 14, 1931 – May 26, 1989) was an American jazz pianist, whose principal influences were Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, and Bud Powell. Biography Newborn was born in Whiteville, Tennessee, and came from a musical famil ...

Mitchell landed a job with the Home of the Blues record label as a producer, then left to join Hi Records as both a recording artist and a producer. Known at the recording studio as "Papa Willie", Mitchell earned his nickname by taking over the reins of Hi Records in 1970 and guiding it through its most successful period. Mitchell's productions have been much noted for featuring a hard-hitting bass drum sound (usually played by pioneering Memphis drummer Al Jackson, Jr. of Booker T. & the M.G.'s). A trumpeter and bandleader in his own right, Mitchell released a number of popular singles for Hi Records as an artist in the 1960s, including " Soul Serenade." It peaked at number 43 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in April 1968. Through the 1980s, Mitchell ran his own independent record label, Waylo Records. Acts on the label included Billy Always and

Lynn White Lynn Townsend White Jr. (April 29, 1907 – March 30, 1987) was an American historian. He was a professor of medieval history at Princeton from 1933 to 1937, and at Stanford from 1937 to 1943. He was president of Mills College, Oakland, from 1943 ...

. In 1987,

Joyce Cobb Joyce Renee Cobb (born June 2, 1945) is an American singer specializing in jazz and R&B. She is closely associated with traditional blues and jazz in the style of Memphis Minnie, Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, and Sarah Vaughan. She has had a ...

recorded several singles for Waylo, one of which made it to No. 3 on the British R&B chart: "Another Lonely Night (Without You)", while in 1987, Mitchell worked on a version of Wet Wet Wet's debut album, which was issued in 1988 as ''

The Memphis Sessions ''The Memphis Sessions'' is a compilation album by Scottish pop-rock quartet Wet Wet Wet. Released on 7 November 1988, the album features a number of tracks recorded during the early recording sessions for the band's debut studio album, ''Popped ...

''. He and Al Green revived their successful

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, r ...

partnership in 2003 when Green recorded ''I Can't Stop'', his first collaboration with Mitchell since 1985's '' He is the Light''. Their 2005 follow-up project was ''Everything's OK''. Mitchell died in Memphis on January 5, 2010, from a cardiac arrest. His final work was producing the final Solomon Burke studio album, ''Nothing's Impossible'', released in June 2010.

Discography

* 1963: ''Sunrise Serenade'' * 1964: ''20-75'' * 1964: ''Hold It'' * 1965: ''It's Dance Time'' * 1966: ''It's What's Happenin * 1966: ''The Hit Sound Of Willie Mitchell'' * 1967: ''Ooh Baby, You Turn Me On'' * 1968: ''Willie Mitchell Live at the Royal'' * 1968: ''Soul Serenade'' * 1969: ''On Top'' * 1969: ''Solid Soul'' * 1969: ''Soul Bag'' * 1970: ''Robbin's Nest'' * 1970: ''The Many Moods of Willie Mitchell'' * 1971: ''Listen Dance'' * 1977: ''Willie Mitchell Live'' * 1981: ''Willie Willie Willie'' * 1986: ''That Driving Beat'' * 2001: ''Poppa Willie The Hi Years / 1962-74'' * 2003: ''Walkin' With Willie'' * 2008: ''Best Damn Fool'' (with

Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray Vaugh ...

)

Singles

* ^A"Soul Serenade" peaked at number 32 on Billboard Adult Contemporary chart

References

External links

*
Musician Willie Mitchell dead at 82

Famed musician, record producer Willie Mitchell dies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Willie 1928 births 2010 deaths African-American songwriters American bandleaders American music industry executives Record producers from Mississippi Record producers from Tennessee American soul musicians American trumpeters American male trumpeters Hi Records artists Musicians from Mississippi Soul-blues musicians Musicians from Memphis, Tennessee People from Ashland, Mississippi Songwriters from Tennessee Songwriters from Mississippi Bearsville Records artists 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people American male songwriters