Willie Mitchell Remembered (1928-2010)

Famed soul producer, arranger, musician and artist Willie Mitchell died January 5 around 7:30 am at Methodist University Hospital in Memphis from cardiac arrest suffered on December 19. Born March 23, 1928 in Ashland, Mississippi, Mitchell was 81. Also known as “Poppa Willie,” a moniker he received when he took over the helm of Hi Records in 1970, Mitchell brought the label to its greatest heights with the recordings of such artists as Al Green, Syl Johnson, Ann Peebles, O.V. Wright and himself. He helped create the Memphis sound, employing the hard-hitting kick drum sound in his releases that was usually executed by Booker T & the MGs’ drummer Al Jackson.

Most of Mitchell’s hits were made behind the console at the revered Royal Recording Studio, which he owned. Mitchell would say not to touch any of the settings since that’s where so many hits had been produced. Most recently, he reunited with his partner Al Green in 2003 to record I Can’t Stop, followed by the 2005 release Everything’s OK.

His adopted sons, Archie and Boo Mitchell, the sons of his two daughters who now carry on his name, traveled to Los Angeles with him in 2008 to accept the Trustees Award from the Grammy Foundation. Raised in the studio under their father, both sons, who played keyboards on Green’s Grammy-winning 1988 release “As Long As We’re Together,” continue to record in the same South Lauderdale Street location which was renamed Willie Mitchell Boulevard in 2004, where their father created the Memphis soul sound. The two-CD set Poppa Willie: The Hi Years (1962-1974), the four-CD set The Immortal Soul of Al Green, and the three-CD package Hi Times: The R&B Years are among the collections that reveal the talent of this legendary artist.