Willie Mitchell 1928-2010 R.I.P.

Legendary Hi Records producer oversaw the cream of Memphis soul and many more.

By Fred Mills

It's not just Memphis music buffs who are mourning the news of producer Willie Mitchell's death - the man had a hand in so many classic recordings, you could say he was part of our collective musical DNA.

Or as Bob Mehr of the Memphis Commercial-Appeal writes in his Mitchell obituary today:

They called him "Poppa." In the end, he was exactly that: patriarch to an extended family of musicians, big daddy to a large brood of blood kin and progenitor of a soul sound known the world over.

Mitchell passed away yesterday, January 5, at the age of 81, at Methodist University Hospital in Memphis. In September he'd broken his hip, and then last month he'd also gone into cardiac arrest.

Mitchell had held musical court a Memphis' Royal Studios and, of course, Hi Records, which released Mitchell-produced records by Al Green, Syl Johnson, Ann Peebles and many others. The award-winning producer also worked with Green in 2003 and 2005 when Green made a critically acclaimed comeback with I Can't Stop and Everything's OK.

Over the years he also worked with rock artists including Rod Stewart, Keith Richards, Boz Scaggs and John Mayer.

Read Mehr's full appreciation and career overview of Mitchell here.