Willie Mitchell

 Willie Mitchell was born on March 23 1928 in Ashland MS and raised in Memphis, TN. By the age of 8 he was being taught how to play the trumpet and eventually became a student at Rust College where he studied under Onzie Horne.

After college and a stint in the Army he moved back to Memphis in 1954 and quickly became a popular bandleader.

Although having small success with his music Willie would spend the next 13 years

building his craft. At this time the Memphis Soul sound was being spearheaded by Stax Records who proudly had Otis Redding and the great “Wicked Wilson Pickett” recording at their studio.

It is now 1966 and a new decade was coming. This brought about change to Willie. He started to revamp his Hi Rhythm Section.  Consisting of the 3 Hodges brothers. Charles, Mabon and Leroy. He also added Archie Turner, James his brother and legendary Stax musician Al Jackson Jr.

1968 saw Willie Mitchell still searching for a way to help Hi Records and Memphis deal with the decline in music since the unexpected death of Otis Redding and by Motown still updating their sound.  He was trying to break out of the mold of being known as “home of the instrumental”

He immediately went to work with Al Green. Taking several moths to do. Willie Mitchell was looking for a sound. A sound that consisted of smooth vocals that sat on top of the music.  His production style was unique. He insisted on only using 4 tracks. This was done mainly because the result was a clean and spacious sound. He would also have Al slow down his phrasing and soften up his timbre to a whisper.

Willie Mitchell would also be responsible for changing the way Al dressed.

All of this would lead to a string of hits in the 70’s. Including the smash hit Lets’ Stay Together which reached number 1 on Billboards hot 100. He would go on to chart 17 more songs on Billboards Hot 100 from 1971 to 1978.

As a professional I feel that Mr. Mitchell was a visionary. He started learning at an early age, which helped him with his producing. He had more experience than the average person and he used it to his advantage.  I was also impressed because through his teaching he found out what it took to be a star and he molded Al Green accordingly.

As a listener I think that Willie and Al were a perfect combination. Until now I never understood what separated Al from the rest of the field. I knew his lyrics were wonderful and a joy to listen to but the difference was Willie’s recording techniques along with the notion of having smooth vocals on top of gritty music instead of having gritty vocals and rough music.

In closing I would like to say that Willie and Al’s music has been a blessing to me. I have the ability to sing smooth like Al and rough like Wilson Pickett. Knowing what I’ve known already and learning what I have just learn about the two has inspired me to try new things when I record my music.