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

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

s for Sun Records), and three silent partners, including Cuoghi's lawyer, Nick Pesce. Escott, Colin; Frank W. Hoffmann d. ''The Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound, Vol. 1''. 2nd edn Routledge, p. 491.

History

Hi Records' first big hit was "Smokie Part 2", an instrumental by

Bill Black's Combo William Patton Black Jr. (September 17, 1926 – October 21, 1965) was an American musician and bandleader who is noted as one of the pioneers of rock and roll. He played in Elvis Presley's early trio. Black later formed Bill Black's Combo. Ear ...

, released in 1959. Black was a bass player with Elvis Presley and a long-time friend of Ray Harris. Founder Claunch was forced out of the label, selling his share in 1960 to

Carl McVoy Carl McVoy (January 3, 1931 – January 3, 1992) was an American pianist. Career McVoy was cousin to the younger Jerry Lee Lewis. He had been to New York City with his father, who had been a minister there. McVoy got hooked on boogie-woogie while ...

(a cousin of Jerry Lee Lewis), who had been involved with the label since its first recording and had worked with Bill Black. Willie Mitchell joined the label that year as a recording artist. In 1968 he began to produce

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", ...

. Bill Black's saxophonist, Ace Cannon, landed a hit with the single " Tuff" in 1961. Royal Recording Studios

In 1970, when founder Joe Cuoghi died and Ray Harris retired, Nick Pesce became president; Willie Mitchell became vice-president. Hi Records' commercial peak was in the early 1970s, mainly due to the innovative and highly successful work of Al Green, whose hits on the label included " Tired of Being Alone", " Let's Stay Together", " I'm Still in Love with You", and " Call Me". Other artists on the label included O. V. Wright, Don Bryant, Otis Clay, and Ann Peebles. None reached the same level of success. The label's music was mostly recorded at Willie Mitchell's Royal Studios, located in a renovated movie theater in South Memphis. The label was distributed nationally by

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

. On its numerous hit recordings of the 1970s, the label used a house backing band of local

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

s known as the Hi Rhythm Section. The popularity of

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

music in the late 1970s led to a decline in the popularity of southern soul music. Licensed distribution is by Crimson Productions (a division of Demon Music Group) in Europe; EMI licensed the catalog in Canada and the United States until 2009, when Fat Possum Records began distributing for the United States, Canada and Australia. Before EMI,

Motown Records Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmant ...

distributed Hi's back catalog from the 1980s to the mid-1990s, consisting mostly Green's and Mitchell's albums.

Notable artists

* Don Bryant * O. V. Wright * Otis Clay * Ann Peebles *

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 ...

* Syl Johnson *

* Al Perkins * Ace Cannon * Willie Mitchell

References

External links

Official site

* {{Authority control American record labels Record labels established in 1957 Rhythm and blues record labels Soul music record labels Record labels based in Tennessee

History

Notable artists

See also

References

External links