Willie Mitchell (March 1, 1928 – January 5, 2010) was an American soul, R&B;, rock and roll, pop and funk record producer and arranger, who ran Royal Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. He was best known for his Hi Records label of the 1970s, which released albums by a large stable of popular Memphis soul artists, including Mitchell himself, Al Green, Syl Johnson and Ann Peebles.
Born and raised in Ashland, Mississippi, Mitchell moved to Memphis when ...
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Willie Mitchell (March 1, 1928 – January 5, 2010) was an American soul, R&B;, rock and roll, pop and funk record producer and arranger, who ran Royal Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. He was best known for his Hi Records label of the 1970s, which released albums by a large stable of popular Memphis soul artists, including Mitchell himself, Al Green, Syl Johnson and Ann Peebles.
Born and raised in Ashland, Mississippi, Mitchell moved to Memphis when he was in high school. He attended Rust College. 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, saxophonists Charles Lloyd, and George Coleman, and pianist Phineas Newborn, Jr.
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 ...
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