- Hi Records
infobox record label
image_bg = white
parent = ABS Entertainment Inc.
founded = 1957
founder = Ray Harris, Joe Cuoghi, Bill Cantrell, Quinton Claunch
distributor =EMI (In the US)Crimson Productions (in the UK)
genre =rockabilly ,soul music
country = US
url = http://hirecords.comHi Records was a
Memphis soul androckabilly label started by singerRay Harris , record store owner Joe Cuoghi, Bill Cantrell, and Quinton Claunch in 1957 (see1957 in music ).Hi's first big hit was "Smokie Part 2", an instrumental by The Bill Black Combo in 1959. Black was a
bass player withElvis Presley and a long time friend of founder Harris. Founder Claunch quit the label, selling his share to Carl McVoy in 1960,the same year that Willie Mitchell was brought in as musical director. Hi's most successful years were in the 1960s and 1970s, with albums for internationally known acts likeAl Green ,O. V. Wright andAnn Peebles . When founder Joe Cuoghi died in 1970, musician/music producer Willie Mitchell took over running the label. The label's music was mostly recorded at Mitchell's Royal Recording studio inMemphis, Tennessee and distributed nationally byLondon Records . The label used a house backing band of localsession musician s, known as theHi Rhythm Section , on its numerous hit recordings of the 1970s. The popularity ofdisco music in the late 1970s led to an eventual decline in the popularity of the label's Memphis soul style.In 1977, Willie Mitchell sold the label to
Cream Records owned by Al Bennett. Today it is operated by his daughter, Adalah Bennett Shaw. Licensed distribution is byCrimson Productions inEurope ;EMI is the licensee inCanada and the United States.Adalah Bennett Shaw died in Memphis, Tennessee, on June 8, 2008, at the age of 55. [http://www.tri-citytribune.com/story/1438397.html]
See also
*
List of record labels External links
* [http://www.hirecords.com/home.htm Official site]
* http://www.jukenjamm.com/juke/photos/hi/hi.html
* http://members.aol.com/Zeeuw1/harris.htm
* http://www.rockabilly.nl/references/messages/joe_cuoghi.htm
* [http://staxrecords.free.fr/hi.htm Unofficial web site about Hi Records]
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