Editing Hi Records

{{Short description|American record label featuring R&B and soul music}}
{{Infobox record label
 | image = [[Image:hirecords.jpg|center]]
 | parent = [[ABS Entertainment Inc.]]
 | founded = 1957 
 | founder = Ray Harris, Joe Cuoghi, Bill Cantrell, [[Quinton Claunch]]
 | distributor = [[Fat Possum Records]] (in the US, Canada, Australia)<br>[[Demon Music Group|Crimson Productions]] (in the UK)
 | genre = [[Rhythm & blues]], [[soul music|soul]]
 | country = [[United States|US]]
 | url = {{URL|http://hirecords.com}}
}}
[[File:Royal Recording Studios.jpg|thumb|The Royal Recording Studios and Hi Recording Studio]]
'''Hi Records''' is an American [[soul music]] and [[rhythm & blues]] label founded in [[Memphis, Tennessee]], in 1957 by singer [[Ray Harris]], record store owner Joe Cuoghi, Bill Cantrell and [[Quinton Claunch]] (formerly [[record producer|producer]]s for [[Sun Records]]), and three silent partners, including Cuoghi's lawyer, Nick Pesce.<ref name="RecordedSound">[[Colin Escott|Escott, Colin]]; Frank W. Hoffmann [ed.]. ''The Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound, Vol. 1''. 2nd edn [[Routledge]], p. 491. {{ISBN|0-415-93835-X}}</ref>

== History ==
Hi Records' first big hit was "Smokie Part 2", an instrumental by [[Bill Black's Combo]], released in 1959.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> Black was a [[bass player]] with [[Elvis Presley]] and a long-time friend of Ray Harris. Founder Claunch was forced out of the label, selling his share in 1960 to [[Carl McVoy]] (a cousin of [[Jerry Lee Lewis]]), who had been involved with the label since its first recording and had worked with Bill Black. [[Willie Mitchell (musician)|Willie Mitchell]] joined the label that year as a recording artist.<ref name="LarkinGE">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]|editor=[[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]|publisher=[[Guinness Publishing]]|date=1992|edition=First|isbn=0-85112-939-0|page=1155}}</ref> In 1968 he began to produce [[Al Green]].<ref name="LarkinGE"/> Bill Black's saxophonist, [[Ace Cannon]], landed a hit with the single "[[Tuff (instrumental)|Tuff]]" in 1961.<ref name="RecordedSound"/>

In 1970, when founder Joe Cuoghi died and Ray Harris retired, Nick Pesce became president; Willie Mitchell became vice-president.<ref name="RecordedSound"/> Hi Records' commercial peak was in the early 1970s, mainly due to the innovative and highly successful work of Al Green,<ref name="RecordedSound"/> whose hits on the label included "[[Tired of Being Alone]]", "[[Let's Stay Together (Al Green song)|Let's Stay Together]]", "[[I'm Still in Love with You (Al Green song)|I'm Still in Love with You]]", and "[[Call Me (Come Back Home)|Call Me]]". Other artists on the label included [[O. V. Wright]], [[Don Bryant (songwriter)|Don Bryant]], [[Otis Clay]], and [[Ann Peebles]]. None reached the same level of success.<ref name="LarkinGE"/>

The label's music was mostly recorded at Willie Mitchell's [[Royal Studios]], located in a renovated movie theater in [[South Memphis, Memphis|South Memphis]].<ref>Hazen, Cindy, & Mike Freeman (1997). ''Memphis Elvis-style''. John F. Blair, Publisher, p. 146. {{ISBN|0-89587-173-4}}</ref> The label was distributed nationally by [[London Records]]. On its numerous hit recordings of the 1970s, the label used a house backing band of local [[session musician]]s known as the [[Hi Rhythm Section]]. The popularity of [[disco]] music in the late 1970s led to a decline in the popularity of [[southern soul]] music.<ref>[http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20140701-the-death-of-soul-music Greg Kot, "'It's All Over Now: The death of soul music", ''BBC'', 21 October 2014]. Retrieved 17 October 2018</ref>

Licensed distribution is by Crimson Productions (a division of [[Demon Music Group]]) in Europe; [[EMI]] licensed the catalog in Canada and the United States until 2009, when [[Fat Possum Records]] began distributing for the United States, Canada and Australia.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IJymRIZcaBoC&q=%22hi+records%22&pg=PT12 |title=Billboard - Google Books |date=2009-02-28 |access-date=2012-02-21}}</ref>  Before EMI, [[Motown Records]] distributed Hi's back catalog from the 1980s to the mid-1990s, consisting mostly Green's and Mitchell's albums.

The Royal Recording Studios, also Hi Recording Studio, was located at an old movie theatre, at 1320 South Lauderdale Street, founded by the owners of Hi Records; several hit singles were recorded here.

== Notable artists ==
{{div col}}
* [[Al Green]]
* [[Don Bryant (songwriter)|Don Bryant]]
* [[O. V. Wright]]
* [[Otis Clay]]
* [[Ann Peebles]]
* [[Quiet Elegance]]
* [[Syl Johnson]]
* [[Bill Black|Bill Black's Combo]] 
* [[Al Perkins]]
* [[Ace Cannon]]
* [[Willie Mitchell (musician)|Willie Mitchell]]
{{div col end}}

== See also ==
{{div col}}
* [[List of record labels]]
* [[Goldwax Records]]
* [[Stax Records]]
* [[FAME Studios]]
* [[Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section]]
* [[R&B]]
* [[Memphis Soul Music]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050305055120/http://www.hirecords.com/home.htm Official site]
* [http://www.jukenjamm.com/juke/photos/hi/hi.html Jukenjamm.com]
* [http://staxrecords.free.fr/hi.htm Unofficial web site about Hi Records]
* {{youTube|X6gSqGrf7SQ|Back for a Taste of Your Love- Syl Johnson}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Record labels established in 1957]]
[[Category:Rhythm and blues record labels]]
[[Category:Soul music record labels]]
[[Category:Hi Records artists| ]]
[[Category:Hi Records albums| ]]
[[Category:Record labels based in Memphis, Tennessee]]