[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 3 (Wednesday, January 13, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E30]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        HONORING THE LIFE OF MEMPHIS MUSIC ICON WILLIE MITCHELL

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                            HON. STEVE COHEN

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 13, 2010

  Mr. COHEN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Willie 
Mitchell, a great Memphis music performer, producer, icon, and 
patriarchal figure to many jazz and R&B artists. Willie Mitchell was a 
great trumpeter, bandleader, and early in his career had worked with 
talented artists, including Otis Clay. After the passing of Joe Coughi, 
Willie Mitchell took over Hi Records on Lauderdale Street in South 
Memphis where he assembled house band Hi Rhythm and defined the sounds 
of O.V. Wright, Syl Johnson, Ann Peebles, and many others.
  Willie Mitchell's greatest find could, arguably, be singer Al Green. 
As a great horn player and musician, Willie Mitchell was performing in 
Texas and Al Green was on the bill. He told Al Green, ``Come back to 
Memphis and I'll make you a star''--and Willie Mitchell made it happen 
for Al Green. That happened often in Memphis someone saying,--``Come to 
Memphis and I'll make you a star.'' And then Al Green helped to unite 
the sounds of jazz and R&B to meet the demands of a new era of music. 
Speaking about Al Green, Willie Mitchell marveled that ``. . . of all 
the singers, he was the only one that could hear jazz changes and 
really sing in that style . . . and it was just hit after hit.''
  Willie Mitchell's contributions and influence transcends the 
boundaries of place and time. Detroit's distinguished Motown Records, 
headed by Berry Gordy, Jr., sent a team down to Hi Records to learn the 
secret behind Willie Mitchell's sound. These sounds can still be heard 
in recent string and horn arrangements on Rod Stewart's newest album 
``Soulbook,'' a soon-to-be released album by legend Solomon Burke and 
in the current artistry of pop singer John Mayer, hip-hop artist 
Anthony Hamilton, and others.
  Willie Mitchell received many awards including the 2008 GRAMMYs 
Trustees Award for a lifetime of achievements. In 2004, the portion of 
Lauderdale Street in front of Royal Studios in Memphis, which Willie 
Mitchell retained after the sale of Hi Records in the late 70s, was 
renamed ``Willie Mitchell Boulevard'' by the City.
  Willie Mitchell was laid to rest today in Memphis. He gave people 
lots of love and happiness and reasons to stay together--he and Al 
Green. We'll all miss Willie Mitchell. I appreciate the fact that he 
came our way and helped produce the Memphis sound and became part of 
that great Memphis legend of soul music. He was loved by his musical 
community and by his family. He leaves two wonderful daughters, two 
grandsons who became his sons, a step-son and a musical history and 
tradition that will live on forever.

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