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Hi Records, American record label founded in 1957 by guitarist Ray Harris and Memphis record store owner Joe Cuoghi.
Through its first decade, Hi carved a niche for itself in the pop market with instrumental hits by Elvis Presleyâs former bassist Bill Black (b. Sept. 17, 1926, Memphis, Tenn.âd. Oct. 21, 1965, Memphis) and by Willie Mitchell (b. March 23, 1928, Ashland, Miss.âd. Jan. 5, 2010, Memphis), a former jazz bandleader who took over as the labelâs artists-and-repertoire man. By the early 1970s, however, Memphisâs chain of racially mixed musics made by integrated musiciansâfrom the output of Sun Records to that of Stax/Volt and Chips Momanâs American Sound Studiosâhad been broken, largely as a consequence of urban blight and the coalition-splintering shock of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Mitchell and Hi filled this void, creating a new soul style with vocalist Al Green.
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American singer-songwriter Al Green.
David RedfernâRedferns/Getty Images
Hiâs Royal Recording Studios, at 1320 South Lauderdale Street, just off Highway 61 in a predominantly African American portion of the city, were, like Staxâs, located in a former movie theatre. Mitchell used the unusual acoustics caused partly by the theatreâs sloping floor to construct a new sound. He slowed soulâs tempo and emphasized a percussive 44 beat, utilizing the talents of drummer Al Jackson (formerly of Booker T. and the MGâs) and the Hodges brothersâLeroy (bass), Charles (keyboards), and Teenie (guitar). The first hint of the new sound was Ann Peeblesâs Part Time Love (1970), but its full glory was revealed in a sublime series of hits by Green (remembered for his trademark white suit) from 1971 to 1975. These sexy songs for adults were the cornerstone of some of soulâs most luxuriant music. It may have been the last great innovation of the Memphis music scene, but its erotic mix of the sacred and the profane remained influential. Talking Heads had a hit with a cover version of Greenâs Take Me to the River in 1978, and glimpses of Hiâs slinky rhythms could be heard in the more overtly eroticized house music of Chicago in the 1980s.
