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 attes ...

, R&B,

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

, pop and

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

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 partn ...

label of the 1970s, which released albums by a large stable of popular

Memphis soul Memphis soul, also known as the Memphis sound, is the most prominent strain of Southern soul. It is a shimmering, sultry style produced in the 1960s and 1970s at Stax Records and Hi Records in Memphis, Tennessee, featuring melodic unison horn line ...

artists, including Mitchell himself,

Al Green Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), better known as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Take Me to the River", ...

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 Quiet Elegance were an American female singing group founded in Detroit, Michigan, United States, in 1971. The group toured extensively as backing singers and also recorded a number of Soul and Southern soul music singles during the 1970s. Two a ...

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 Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''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 An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

, 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

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, ...

partnership in 2003 when Green recorded ''I Can't Stop'', his first collaboration with Mitchell since 1985's ''

He is the Light ''He Is the Light'' is an album by Al Green, released in 1985. It was Green's first album for A&M Records. The album peaked at No. 11 on the ''Billboard'' Top Gospel Albums chart. Production The album marked the return of producer Willie Mitch ...

''. 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 Solomon Vincent McDonald Burke (born James Solomon McDonald, March 21, 1936 or 1940 – October 10, 2010) was an American singer who shaped the sound of rhythm and blues as one of the founding fathers of soul music in the 1960s. He has been ...

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 V ...

)

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