Willie Mitchell, RIP
The producer and trumpeter Willie Mitchell, father of the Hi Records sound in Memphis, Tennessee, has died at age 81. If you've heard the soul hits Al Green and Ann Peebles recorded for Hi in the '60s and '70s, you've heard Mitchell's work -- and staggeringly good work it is, too. The Cleveland Scene has assembled some of Mitchell's best-known collaborations with Green here, and Funky 16 Corners has posted three of Mitchell's instrumentals here. And here's my favorite of the songs he produced for O.V. Wright:
Semi-obligatory quasi-political content: an article I wrote about southern soul music, regional culture, and race relations.
Update: Mark Richens has rounded up some more Mitchell appreciations here.
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Thank you, Mr. Mitchell.
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Often forgotten is that in the '80s, Mitchell agreed to produce an unknown band of Scottish soul fans. Having laid down eight tracks, including a cover of Mitchell's song 'This Time', the group returned to Britain and recorded their full debut. Wet Wet Wet never were granted much credibility -- but Mitchell certainly thought those guys had something. The Mitchell-produced set was released in 1988, a year after the debut album came out.
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Semi-tangental: Respect Yourself: The Story of Stax Records was a great documentary.
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From what I remember of Al Green's records back then & listening to this youtube cut, it seems to me one of the things that distinguished these productions was no echo or reverb, unlike a lot of the Stax or Motown productions. These sound more like well-recorded rehearsals than big deal productions, though I'm sure they worked as hard on this stuff as the other studios did on theirs.
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You are neglecting the work he did with Syl Johnson.
Condolences to his loved ones.
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Good call Jesse! O.V. Wright is an absolute wonder. My favorite voice in soul music.
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Jesse's article is well worth reading, as is most of the University Bookman.
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I like it very much, thank you
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