Memphis Music Links:
Memphis Music Legends & Hitmakers
Al Green
Many times over Al Green has been called one of the greatest living soul singers. Al Green is to Soul what Elvis Presley is to Rock 'n' Roll. When you talk about Al Green, you also talk about Willie Mitchell, who produced the Hi Record sounds that became the Memphis Sound for a decade. Here is the achievement of a team who conveys emotions through piercing whimpers of their souls, and enchanted moans from the heart.
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B.B. King
Born Riley B. King in Indianola, Mississippi in 1925, with his trademark Gibson "Lucille," is a living legend of the Blues. King is a Grammy Award-winning superstar who continues to record and tour. King has won five W.C. Handy awards. His concerts sell out all over the world. He was the first Blues artist to be given a Kennedy Center Lifetime Achievement Award.
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Bar-Kays
Initially a funky instrumental soul combo on Stax/Volt, the Bar-Kays were nearly destroyed when most of the band perished in the same plane crash that claimed Otis Redding. Amazingly, the Bar-Kays not only regrouped but prospered, evolving into a popular funk ensemble over the course of the '70s. They continued to score hits on the R&B charts through much of the '80s as well, making for a career longevity that no one would have predicted for Stax's formerly star-crossed number-two house band. The Bar-Kays were formed in Memphis, TN, in 1966, growing out of a local group dubbed the Imperials. Modeled on classic Memphis soul instrumental outfits like the Mar-Keys and Booker T. & the MG's, the Bar-Kays originally included guitarist Jimmy King (not the famed bluesman), trumpeter Ben Cauley, organist Ronnie Caldwell, saxophonist Phalon Jones, bassist James Alexander, and drummer Carl Cunningham. Adopting a mutated version of their favorite brand of rum (Bacardi) as their name, the band started playing heavily around Memphis, and eventually caught the attention of Stax/Volt, which signed the sextet in early 1967. With help from house drummer Al Jackson, Jr., the label began grooming the Bar-Kays as a second studio backing group that would spell Booker T. & the MG's on occasion. That spring, the Bar-Kays cut their first single, "Soul Finger," a playful, party-hearty instrumental punctuated by a group of neighborhood children shouting the title. "Soul Finger" reached the pop Top 20 and went all the way to number three on the R&B chart, establishing the Bar-Kays in the public eye (although the follow-up, "Give Everybody Some," barely scraped the R&B Top 40).
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Beale Street
W.C. Handy, "Father of the Blues," once wrote: "The seven wonders of the world I have seen, and many are the places I have been. Take my advice, folks, and see Beale Street first."
That was half a century before Congress declared Memphis' Beale Street a national historic landmark. Now recognized worldwide as the "Home of the Blues," the nation's first original musical form, Beale has a cultural reputation rivaled by few other places in America. But this is no dry historical monument or preserved-under-glass museum exhibit. Beale Street today is part of a major entertainment district in Memphis, a lively area stretching eastward from the Mississippi riverbluffs.
It was here in 1909 that a young bandleader and trumpet player named William Christopher Handy wrote a campaign song for Memphis mayoral candidate E.H. Crump. "Boss" Crump won, and the song was an immediate success, not so much for its lyrics as for its new sound -- a tune composed of "blue notes" that caught the attention of the public. The song was soon re-titled "Memphis Blues," and it became the first Blues number to be published. Handy followed with the immortal "St. Louis Blues," perhaps the most popular Blues song of all time. These and other classics established Handy as the "Father of the Blues" and Beale Street as its home. Today his statue overlooks the street from the park named in his honor.
Handy's former Memphis home, a small shotgun house where he raised six children before moving to New York, is located at 352 Beale Street and is open to the public.
Aspiring musicians flocked to Memphis to learn this new form of music. In late 1940, a young Mississippian joined in the amateur contests on Beale and soon developed a large following. He traded his first name Riley for "The Beale Street Blues Boy," and today B.B. King is acclaimed as one of the masters of the genre.
Other graduates of Beale Street's "make it or break it" school of music include Furry Lewis, Muddy Waters, Albert King, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Alberta Hunter, and Memphis Minnie McCoy, to name a few.
Beale began to fade during the Depression years, and one by one the gambling parlors, pawnshops, and nightclubs closed down. Like many cities, Memphis businesses moved to the suburbs, and there was talk that Beale's old buildings with their cast-iron decorations, wide awnings, and antique signs would fall to the bulldozer.
In the 1970s, however, Memphis turned its attention back to its attractions along the river. Since 1980, more than $500 million has been spent on downtown redevelopment. Thanks to a cooperative effort between the city and private developers, Beale Street is back. Music is still the street's main attraction, but the area today also offers a fascinating collection of shops, restaurants, boutiques, nightspots, theaters, and parks.
In fact, Beale Street has been cited as second only to Bourbon Street as the best entertainment district in America.
Broadway shows, concerts, and special events are regular offerings at the Orpheum Theatre at the western end of Beale. Built in 1928, this former vaudeville palace underwent a painstaking $5 million facelift and has been transformed into one of the South's premier centers for the performing arts. With its glittering chandeliers, ornate tapestries, gilt decorations, and triple balconies, a night at the Orpheum is an unforgettable experience.
Along the street, the New Daisy Theatre holds performances ranging from headline entertainers and original Blues artists to amateur nights and boxing matches.
A restaurant and nightclub bearing Elvis' name opened at 126 Beale Street in 2007. It features live Memphis Rock 'n' Roll music. The restaurant is located in the original Lansky's building where Elvis bought the clothes he wore on the "Ed Sullivan Show." There's also a unique "Elvis" menu featuring some of "The King's" favorite dishes. In the early '50s, as a youngster, Elvis developed much of his style from the artists and musicians of Beale.
Memphis became home to Hard Rock Caf‚ in November 1997 on the corner of Beale and Hernando Streets in the heart of Memphis' historical music district. Hard Rock Caf‚ Memphis seats 250 customers and is housed in the building formerly occupied by Memphis Sounds recording studio. Like other Hard Rock Cafes, it has Rock 'n' Roll memorabilia, continuous music videos, and merchandise.
Directly across the street from Hard Rock Caf‚, you'll find Pat O'Brien's Memphis. Here you'll find all the New Orleans mojo that made "Pat O's" world famous, including a courtyard bar with a replica of the "flaming fountain."
Live music is also a regular feature at most of the nightspots on Beale. Gospel, Rock, Blues, and Jazz acts are frequent offerings in Handy Park, and carriage tours often clop down the brick street past the sounds of amateur jam sessions on Beale's street corners.
Beale Street also offers a special treat for shoppers. Boutiques offer clothing, Memphis music sunglasses, arts, crafts, souvenirs, and specialty items. And a delightful surprise for everyone is A. Schwab's. Owned and operated by the same family since 1876, Schwab's has three floors crammed with an astonishing variety of merchandise. Few department stores today sell voodoo powders, magic potions, 99-cent neckties, clerical collars, handcuffs, church usher badges, hardware, clothing, tools, and toys, but Schwab's does. The store's slogan tells it all: "If you can't find it at Schwab's, you're better off without it."
Bobby "Blue" Bland
A product of the Memphis’ Beale Street blues scene. As a singer, Bland projected a grainy, down-to-earth quality, punctuated with guttural growls and snorts that would come to be known as the “chicken-bone sound.” Yet his voice was simultaneously smooth as velvet, allowing Bland to bring audiences under his hypnotic spell as he walked a fine line between passionate expression and exquisite self-control. A staple on the R&B charts for 50 years, Bland won the 1997 Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement. Inducted in both the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a brass note in his honor is on Beale street.
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Booker T. & the MG's
Stax is said to be the house that Booker T. & The MG's built. Certainly there was a torrent of talent in the early days at Stax. However, the soul of Stax was an ever evolving group which melded itself with or without any talent that happened to appear in the recording studio on any particular day.
This was Booker T. & The MG's, in essence, the Stax house band, the torch holder of the new Memphis Sound. The vindicators of the sign out front of Stax, which read "Soulsville USA."
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Carl Perkins
One of the founding fathers of Rock 'n' Roll, Perkins' "Blue Suede Shoes" topped the pop, country, and R&B charts at the same time and earned him a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Perkins has influenced virtually everyone including Elvis and the Beatles. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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David Porter
One of the most prolific songwriters, music publishers, and producers around, Porter began his career at Stax where he joined Isaac Hayes to write "Soul Man" and "I Thank You." "Hold On I'm Comin'" was another big hit. He has sold more than 200 million records and continues to be active as owner of a production company, publishing company, a record label, media production office, and an artist development complex.
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Eddie Floyd
In early 1966, Floyd released his first single for Stax, "Things Get Better," which failed to chart. That summer, Floyd cut "Knock on Wood" initially intended for Otis Redding, becoming Stax's third number one R&B hit by the end of the year. Floyd followed his instant soul classic with several more Top 40 R&B hits over the next four years, including "Raise Your Hand," "Love Is a Doggone Good Thing," "On a Saturday Night," "I've Never Found a Girl (To Love Me Like You Do)" (his second biggest hit), and a cover of Sam Cooke's "Bring It on Home to Me."
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Elvis Presley
Arguably the greatest Rock 'n' Roll star of all time, Elvis continues to inspire fans and musicians even thirty years after his untimely death. For many who continue to make the annual pilgrimage to Memphis to visit the home of the undisputed King of Rock 'n' Roll, Graceland is a Mecca. Known as much for his generosity as his gyrations, Elvis continues to sell millions of records globally. Hundreds of thousands of fans of all ages visit his home each year. Little known fact ablout the King of Rock: Elvis was a twin. He had a twin brother named Jesse Garon Presley.
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Howlin' Wolf
Simply put, Howlin' Wolf was one of the greatest Bluesman that ever lived. As an indication of his vast talent, Sam Phillips states that his own greatest accomplishment was not discovering a young Elvis Presley, but discovering, and producing Howlin' Wolf.
Along with Sonny Boy Williamson II, Muddy Waters and B.B. King, Wolf was one of the most influential Bluesman to shape the post WWII musical era. Not only did Wolf create a new and unique style with his eerie delta vocals, but he went on to shape the emerging Chicago amplified Blues style.
Wolf was taught the Blues by two of the greatest Bluesmen in history. Charlie Patton, the father of Modern Blues taught Wolf guitar. Sonny Boy Williamson II, the first Blues radio star, who founded the King Biscuit Four Time Radio show on KFFA, later defined the Chicago Blues sound, and was first to put a harp to a microphone, taught Wolf the harmonica.
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Isaac Hayes
The first African-American composer to win an Academy Award for his soundtrack for the movie Shaft, Isaac Hayes is known as a producer, arranger, pianist, vocalist, and actor. Other accomplishments include writing more than 200 songs including "Soul Man" and "B-A-B-Y" (for Carla Thomas), a Grammy Award, an NAACP Image Award, Edison Award, and a Golden Globe.
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Justin Timberlake
There are few artists who truly deserve the title of superstar. Justin Timberlake is undoubtedly one of them. Justin Randall Timberlake is an American pop and R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer and actor. He came to fame as the lead singer of pop boy band 'N Sync and has won multiple Grammy Awards. In 2002, he released his debut solo album, Justified, which sold over seven million copies worldwide. Timberlake's second solo release, FutureSex/LoveSounds, was released in 2006 with the U.S. number-one hit singles "SexyBack", "My Love", and "What Goes Around... Comes Around". With his first two albums, Timberlake has sold over 15 million albums worldwide.
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Jerry Lee Lewis
The Killer. Jerry Lee Lewis recorded some of Rock 'n' Roll's greatest hits, and he can still play one mean piano. He topped the charts with "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" and "Great Balls of Fire." Lewis was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 .
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Linda Lyndell
Blue-eyed Southern soul diva Linda Lyndell remains best known for her 1968 pop hit "What a Man." Through Atlanta DJ Dave Crawford, she also met the immortal Otis Redding, who recommended her to Stax Records producers Isaac Hayes and David Porter. Just weeks following Redding's tragic death in a plane crash on December 10, 1967, Lyndell cut her Crawford-produced Stax debut, "Bring Your Love Back to Me." An infectious stomper that would later earn great favor among Britain's Northern soul circles, it nevertheless earned little attention upon its original release. During a second Memphis session that spring, Lyndell, Crawford, and the Stax house band essentially improvised "What a Man" in just two takes. The single went on to reach the number 50 spot on the Billboard pop charts.
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Mar-Keys
Despite scoring only one national hit, the 1961 instrumental smash "Last Night," the Mar-Keys remain one of the most important groups ever to emerge from the Memphis music scene. As the first house band for the legendary Stax label, they appeared on some of the greatest records in soul history, with their ranks also producing such renowned musicians as guitarist Steve Cropper and bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn. The Mar-Keys formed in 1958 and included drummer Terry Johnson, pianist Jerry Lee "Smoochie" Smith, saxophonists Don Nix and Charles Axton, and trumpeter Wayne Jackson in addition to Cropper and Dunn. Originally dubbed the Royal Spades, in 1960 the group joined the staff at Axton's mother Estelle's Satellite label, backing artists that included Rufus Thomas and his daughter Carla. A year later, the Mar-Keys headlined the Chips Moman-penned "Last Night," which reached the number three spot in the summer of 1961. When Satellite changed its name to Stax, the Mar-Keys remained on board, laying the foundation for the classic Memphis soul sound through with their funky, sophisticated grooves; concurrently they recorded a series of singles including "Pop-Eye Stroll," "The Morning After," and "Philly Dog," although none repeated the commercial success of "Last Night." In 1962 Cropper and Dunn left the lineup to co-found the famed Booker T. and the MG's. Other personnel changes followed, although the Mar-Keys continued on for several more years before the name was eventually dropped. Jackson then formed another top-notch session group, the Memphis Horns, while Axton led the Packers, scoring a 1965 hit with "Hole in the Wall." Nix, meanwhile, mounted a solo career, also producing records for artists including Freddie King, Jeff Beck, and Furry Lewis.
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Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield, aka Muddy Waters, was a major driving force behind the 1950's Chicago amplified Blues style. Morganfield's influence on the early Chicago Blues scene was nothing short of earthshaking. Born on a sharecropper farm in Rolling Fork, Mississippi, on April 4, 1915, Waters moved to Clarksdale, Mississippi, after his mother's death, teaching himself guitar and harmonica in the early 1930's. Raised by his grandmother, a local muddy creek gave Muddy his moniker. During his teens, Muddy patterned his work after Son House, and Robert Johnson. Waters played guitar and harmonica in Memphis, and all over the Delta, with his bottleneck guitar, and Church singing style borrowed from Son House. Waters borrowed some of Son's songs, including "Walking Blues," which Waters remolded into "Country Blues," field recorded by Alan Lomax for the Library of Congress in the early 1940's.
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Otis Redding
Otis Redding, the heart and Soul of Stax, and one of the greatest male Soul singers of the 1960's, was born September 9, 1941 in Macon, Georgia. His greatest record sales came on the heels of his tragic death, attesting to his monumental achievements. This 21 year old's arrival at Stax brought Jerry Wexler back to Memphis, and together the two introduced white audiences to Southern Soul Music.
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Roy Orbison
Roy was discovered by Sam Phillips in 1956. A ballad crooner with a three octave range that never fit in well with the hard Rockabilly sound at Sun, Roy gained early success with Ooby Dooby", and "Devil Doll." With a long legendary career after Sun, "Only The Lonely" led Orbison to team up with George Harrison, Bob Dylan, and Tom Petty to form the Traveling Wilburys shortly before his death.
Born April 23, 1936 to Orbie Lee and Nadine Orbison, Roy grew up with Country music in a Kelton, Texas shotgun shack. A polio outbreak forced the family to move to Wink, a Texas oil border town, and while Orbee Lee drilled for oil, Roy at 13 formed his first band, "The Wink Westerners."
Orbison first heard Presley perform at the Big D Jamboree in Dallas. "He was a punk kid, a weird looking dude, I can't overemphasize how shocking he looked to me that night... but his energy was incredible, and his instinct was just amazing." Roy formed the "Teen Kings" with pals Wade Moore, and Dick Penner, while attending North Texas State, at the same time Pat Boone attended the college.
After "Devil Doll" the Teen Kings split up during a set in the Sun studio. Orbison truly tried to be a rocker, even removing his glasses while on stage to improve his image, only to find that he had to be led to the microphone due to his severe myopia.
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Rufus Thomas
"I'm not a singer, I'm an entertainer" - Rufus Thomas
The world's oldest teenager was also a singer, dancer, comedian, and radio DJ who recorded for both the Stax and Sun Record Labels. "Walking the Dog" and "Do the Funky Chicken" were major hits. You'll find a historic marker in his honor on Beale Street where he was a tireless promoter of the street and its talent pool. His offspring, Carla, Marvell, and Vaneese, perpetuate the family's musical history.
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Sam & Dave
Sam & Dave's hits "Hold On (I'm Comin') (#21, 1966)," "Soul Man"(#2, 1967), "I Thank You," (#9) became some of Stax best known hits, which were to define the early Stax Southern Soul sound. Stax dynamic Duo Sam & Dave cannot be mentioned without another duo team who wrote them into success, the writing team of Soul chart busters Isaac Hayes, and David Porter. Sam Moore was born on October 12, 1935 in Miami, and David Prater on May 9, 1937 in Ocilla, Georgia.
Miami based Sam & Dave met while at the King of Hearts Club in 1958 while Sam was performing, when Dave got up on stage and started singing with Sam. After an unsuccessful stint with the Roulette label, Jerry Wexler signed them to the Atlantic label, and brought the duo to Stax via a licensing agreement.
With Porter and Hayes songs, Sam and Dave cut a flood of Stax hits like "When Something Is Wrong With My Baby," "You Don't Know Like I Know," "You Got Me Hummin', and "I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down." Hayes would work on the music and Porter on the lyrics for the most part.
"There was no one interested in Sam & Dave. It was like a throw away kind of situation to see if anything could happen with them. I was very interested in Sam and Dave." - David Porter
"Wrap It Up" would later be covered by Jimmy Vaughn's Fabulous Thunderbirds. Sam & Dave broke up the duo in 1970 to pursue solo careers. Moore stayed with Atlantic, while Prater signed to the Alston label, neither to attain their previous success on the Stax label. Occasionally touring together, their personal relationship had never been as harmonious as their performances, and Sam & Dave parted for good in 1980.
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Sam Phillips
Sam Phillips was born January 5, 1923 in Florence Alabama. He started it all as owner of the Memphis Recording Service and founder of the famous Sun Record Label. This is where he recorded Elvis and Carl plus the likes of Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ike Turner, and dozens of others. Phillips was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and recipient of the 1991 Trustees Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
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Sam Samudio (Sam the Sham)
Permanently planted on the music scene since the release of his songs "Wolly Bully" and "Lil' Red Riding Hood," Samudio is yet another Memphian who put Memphis on the music map. After years of recording, tours, and major television appearances, Sam chose a quieter life back home in Memphis as a minister. He won a Grammy Award in 1971. He wrote and performed two songs in the Jack Nicholson film The Border in 1982.
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Staple Singers
In 1968 the Staples signed with Memphis-based Stax. The first two albums, Soul Folk in Action and We'll Get Over, were produced by Steve Cropper and backed by Booker T. & the MG's. The Staples were now singing entirely contemporary "message" songs such as "Long Walk to D.C." and "When Will We Be Paid." In 1970 Pervis Staples left and was replaced by sister Yvonne Staples. Even more significantly, Al Bell took over production chores. Bell took them down the road to Muscle Shoals, and things got decidedly funky. Starting with "Heavy Makes You Happy (Sha-Na-Boom Boom)" and "I'll Take You There," the Staples counted 12 chart hits at Stax.
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Stax Museum of American Soul Music
The Stax Museum of American Soul Music, located at the original site of Stax Records, pays tribute to all of the artists who recorded there with a rare and amazing collection of more than 2,000 interactive exhibits, films, artifacts, items of memorabilia, and galleries designed to keep Stax alive forever.
Because it is the only soul music museum in the world, it also spotlights America's other major soul music pioneers, including the sounds of Muscle Shoals, Motown, Hi, and Atlantic Records, spotlighting the contributions of such soul pioneers as Ike & Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin, The Jackson Five, Ann Peebles, Al Green, Sam Cooke, James Brown, Ray Charles, and many others.
Sun Studio
The delivery room for the birth of Rock 'n' Roll was located at 706 Union Avenue, the home of the famous Sun Studio. Under the guidance of Sam Phillips, Sun molded a legacy of music which produced a long list of Rock 'n' Roll legends within a few short years. Phillips had a unique ability for finding Rock legends within spitting distance of his front door. "Let's Rock," "Go Cat," "Pink Cadillac" and "Great Balls of Fire" originated in Memphis. Sun is the label that produced "Blue Suede Shoes," "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On," "Good Rockin' Tonite," and several dozen others.
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Three 6 Mafia
The group started in 1991 in Memphis with three members: DJ Paul (Paul Beauregard), Juicy J (Jordan Houston), and Lord Infamous (Ricky Dunigan). The original name for the hip hop group was Backyard Posse, followed shortly after by Triple Six Mafia. They are the first hip hop group to win an Academy Award.
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W.C. Handy
Handy was the Moses of the new spirit of Negro music, melding the joys of the Rag Time sound to the sorrows of secular existence. It was Handy, who first penned the series of poetic breaks, and various filled pauses that have become with little adaptation, what we know today as the traditional Blues sound.
Not only did Handy pen the first written Blues, but his St. Louis Blues was the world's first penned Jazz music. William Christopher Handy, Father of the Blues, was born in Florence, Alabama, on November 15, 1873, the grandson of Methodist ministers.
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Willie Mitchell
Producer, songwriter, musician, Willie Mitchell helped launch 13 Top 40 singles for Al Green. He enjoyed his own successes with "Soul Serenade" and "20-75." His studio, Royal Recording, is where Mitchell worked with Ann Peebles and Bobby "Blue" Bland. More recently, Mitchell has produced the works of Preston Shannon and Boz Scaggs. He also owns a popular nightclub on Beale Street.
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