Charles Edward Hodges (born June 29, 1947 in Memphis, Tennessee) [1] is an American organist and songwriter. He is known for his high tone on the Hammond B3 organ, that appeared on records by Al Green, and other musicians signed to Hi Records. [2]
Hodges also played on albums by James Carr, Willie Cobbs, Albert Collins and Boz Scaggs. [3] Hi Records acts Syl Johnson, [4] O.V. Wright, [5] as well as Green [6] and Tom Jones, [7] have all recorded songs written by Hodges. Hodges played keyboards on Vanessa Collier's 2017 album, Meeting My Shadow (Ruf Records) [8] and the Mountain Goats' 2020 album, Getting into Knives (Merge Records). [9]
Jerome Richardson was an American jazz musician and woodwind player. He is cited as playing one of the earliest jazz flute recordings with his work on the 1949 Quincy Jones arranged song "Kingfish".
Memphis soul, also known as the Memphis sound, is the most prominent strain of Southern soul. It is a shimmering, sultry style produced in the 1960s and 1970s at Stax Records and Hi Records in Memphis, Tennessee, featuring melodic unison horn lines, organ, guitar, bass, and a driving beat on the drums.
Mabon Lewis "Teenie" Hodges was an American musician known for his work as a rhythm and lead guitarist and songwriter on many of Al Green's soul hits, and those of other artists such as Ann Peebles and Syl Johnson, on Hi Records in the 1970s. His credits as a songwriter include "Take Me to the River", "Love and Happiness", "L-O-V-E (Love)", and "Here I Am ".
The Hi Rhythm Section was the house band for hit soul albums by several artists, including Al Green and Ann Peebles, on Willie Mitchell's Hi Records label in the 1970s. The band included the three Hodges brothers, organist Charles Hodges, bassist Leroy Hodges and guitarist Mabon "Teenie" Hodges, together with pianist Archie Turner and drummer Howard Grimes. Many recordings also used The Memphis Horns - Wayne Jackson and Andrew Love - of Stax fame, usually with Willie's brother James Mitchell arranging and (Perry) Michael Allen - piano (Alt). The recordings were made at producer Willie Mitchell's Royal Recording Studio in Memphis, Tennessee.
William Lawrence Mitchell was an American trumpeter, bandleader, soul, R&B, rock and roll, pop and funk record producer and arranger who ran Royal Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. He was best known for his Hi Records label of the 1970s, which released albums by a large stable of popular Memphis soul artists, including Mitchell himself, Al Green, O. V. Wright, Syl Johnson, Ann Peebles and Quiet Elegance.
Hi Records is an American soul music and rockabilly label founded in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1957 by singer Ray Harris, record store owner Joe Cuoghi, Bill Cantrell and Quinton Claunch, and three silent partners, including Cuoghi's lawyer, Nick Pesce.
The Mountain Goats are an American band formed in Claremont, California, by singer-songwriter John Darnielle. The band is currently based in Durham, North Carolina. For many years, the sole member of the Mountain Goats was Darnielle, despite the plural moniker. Although he remains the core member of the band, he has worked with a variety of collaborators over time, including bassist and vocalist Peter Hughes, drummer Jon Wurster, multi-instrumentalist Matt Douglas, singer-songwriter Franklin Bruno, bassist and vocalist Rachel Ware, singer-songwriter/producer John Vanderslice, guitarist Kaki King, and multi-instrumentalist Annie Clark.
Charles Nicholas Hodges was an English musician and singer who was the lead vocalist of musical duo Chas & Dave.
Overton Vertis Wright was an American singer who is generally regarded as a blues artist by African-American fans in the Deep South; he is also regarded as one of Southern soul's most authoritative and individual artists. His best known songs include "That's How Strong My Love Is" (1964), "You're Gonna Make Me Cry" (1965), "Nucleus of Soul" (1968), "A Nickel and a Nail" (1971), "I Can't Take It" (1971) and "Ace of Spades" (1971).
Sylvester Johnson was an American blues and soul singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. His most successful records included "Different Strokes" (1967), "Is It Because I'm Black" (1969) later covered by reggae artists Ken Boothe and Delroy Wilson, and "Take Me to the River" (1975), covered by Al Green and Talking Heads.
"Take Me to the River" is a 1974 song written by singer Al Green and guitarist Mabon "Teenie" Hodges. Hit versions were recorded by Syl Johnson, Talking Heads and Delbert McClinton. In 2004, Green's original version was ranked number 117 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Green's 1974 recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2011.
Twinight Records was a minor American recording label, founded in Chicago 1967 by Howard Bedno and Peter Wright, who later added E. Rodney Jones as a partner. Specializing in R&B and soul music, for a few months the label was called Twilight Records until it was discovered that another company already owned the Twilight name. Over five years, the label released 55 singles and charted seven times. The label’s star was Syl Johnson, an established R&B performer who had had a number of hits for King Records and who would have his biggest hits for Hi Records in the 1970s.
James Earl Thompson, known professionally as Jimmy Johnson, was an American blues guitarist and singer.
Royal Studios is a recording studio located in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Established in 1956, it is one of the oldest continuously operated music recording studios in the world.
Lawrence "Boo" Mitchell is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, audio engineer, and owner of Royal Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. He is best known for his work with Al Green, Solomon Burke, Anthony Hamilton, Rod Stewart, John Mayer, 8 Ball, Lamont Dozier, William Bell and Cody Chesnutt.
Goldwax Records was an American record label founded in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, in 1964 by Quinton Claunch and Rudolph V. "Doc" Russell.
Sandy and Donna Rhodes are American singers and songwriters who have performed and recorded country music, and were also backing singers on many R&B records made in Memphis, Tennessee, particularly in the 1970s. Coming from a musical family that also included their father "Dusty" Rhodes and uncles "Slim" and "Speck" Rhodes, they recorded as a duo in the 1960s, first as The Rhodes Sisters and later as The Lonesome Rhodes. They also recorded, on their own account and as session musicians, with Sandy's then-husband Charles Chalmers as Rhodes Chalmers Rhodes (RCR). Sandy and Donna have continued to record and perform with family members and associates as The Rhodes Show, which was also the name of the family's earlier radio and television program.
Vanessa N. Collier is an American blues, funk, and soul saxophonist, singer and songwriter. She has been nominated for twelve Blues Music Awards, including B.B. King Entertainer of the Year, Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year, and Horn Player of the Year, and has won four of them.
Getting Into Knives is the nineteenth studio album by indie folk band the Mountain Goats, released on October 23, 2020, through Merge Records. The album was recorded in March 2020 over six days at Sam Philips Recording in Memphis, in the same room where psychobilly band the Cramps tracked their 1980 debut album Songs the Lord Taught Us. Getting Into Knives was produced, engineered, and mixed by Matt Ross-Spang, who previously engineered In League with Dragons (2019). In addition to being available on streaming and download services, the album also saw physical release on CD, vinyl, and cassette.
Back in the Game is an album by the American musician Syl Johnson. It was released in 1994. Johnson had not recorded an album since the 1980s, but had witnessed a revival of his music due its use as samples in hip hop production. Back in the Game was named the best blues album of 1994 by Living Blues.