Hi Records is an American

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in African-American culture, African-American African-American neighborhood, communities throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps ...

and

rhythm & blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

label founded in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

, in 1957 by singer Ray Harris, record store owner Joe Cuoghi, Bill Cantrell and Quinton Claunch (formerly producers for

Sun Records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee on February 1, 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Jo ...

), 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 Routledge ( ) is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...

, p. 491.

History

Hi Records' first big hit was "Smokie Part 2", an instrumental by Bill Black's Combo, released in 1959. Black was a bass player with

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

and a long-time friend of Ray Harris. Founder Claunch was forced out of the label, selling his share in 1960 to Carl McVoy (a cousin of

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American pianist, singer, and songwriter. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock 'n' roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis m ...

), 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), known professionally as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer. He is best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Tired of ...

. Bill Black's saxophonist, Ace Cannon, landed a hit with the single "

Tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock co ...

" in 1961. 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 Otis Lee Clay (February 11, 1942 – January 8, 2016) was an American R&B and soul singer, who started in gospel music. In 2013, Clay was inducted to the Blues Hall of Fame. Early life Clay was born in Waxhaw, Mississippi, to a musical fami ...

, and

Ann Peebles Ann Lee Peebles (born April 27, 1947) is an American retired singer and songwriter who gained popularity for her Memphis soul albums of the 1970s while signed to Hi Records. Her most successful singles include " I Can't Stand the Rain", which s ...

. 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 A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...

s known as the Hi Rhythm Section. The popularity of

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

music in the late 1970s led to a decline in the popularity of

southern soul Southern soul or country soul is a type of soul and country music that emerged from the Southern United States. The music originated from a combination of styles, including blues (both 12 bar and jump), country, early R&B, and a strong gospel ...

music. Licensed distribution is by Crimson Productions (a division of Demon Music Group) in Europe;

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

licensed the catalog in Canada and the United States until 2009, when

Fat Possum Records Fat Possum Records is an American independent record label based in Water Valley and Oxford, Mississippi. At first Fat Possum focused almost entirely on recording previously unknown Mississippi blues artists (typically from Oxford or Holly Sprin ...

began distributing for the United States, Canada and Australia. Before EMI,

Motown Records Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

distributed Hi's back catalog from the 1980s to the mid-1990s, consisting mostly Green's and Mitchell's albums. The Royal Recording Studios, also Hi Recording Studio, was located at an old movie theatre, at 1320 South Lauderdale Street, founded by the owners of Hi Records; several hit singles were recorded here.

Notable artists

* Don Bryant * O. V. Wright *

* Quiet Elegance *

Syl Johnson Sylvester Johnson (born Sylvester Thompson; July 1, 1936 – February 6, 2022) was an American blues and soul singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. His most successful records included "Different Strokes" (1967), " Is It Because I' ...

* Bill Black's Combo * Al Perkins * Ace Cannon * Willie Mitchell

References

External links

Official site

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

History

Notable artists

See also

References

External links