Willie Mitchell - Soul Serenade: The Best of Willie Mitchell [Capitol]

Willie Mitchell is so often lauded as a producer/songwriter/arranger that it's easy to overlook the numerous hits he recorded for Hi Records as a bandleader. Long a fixture on the Memphis music scene, he came to the Hi label in the early '60s after part of his band played on Bill Black's hit "Smokie, Part 2." On this 20-track collection, you'll hear Mitchell's skills as an arranger and composer collide with his trumpet playing skills and production chops; an irresistible combination that produced tracks stamped with a Memphis fingerprint a mile wide. Read More