Bandleader Willie Mitchell was the driving force behind the Hi label of Memphis for much of the 1960s and '70s and is best remembered these days for signing and producing the hits of soul singer Al Green.
Besides leading Hi's studio band, arranging and producing, Mitchell put out a string of singles and albums under his own name, some of which made the Billboard charts. Soul Serenade was probably his biggest success, with both the single and album of that name selling well in 1968.
Aw Shucks is a single that dates from 1967. It wasn't a hit and never made it on to a Willie Mitchell album. It did, however, turn up in 2001 on a CD compilation called Robbins Nest/Rarities, which is now out of print. Fanatics can purchase a used copy in the Amazon Marketplace for $42.99 (!!!). The rest if you can listen to and download Aw Shucks from the link below. The MP3 is taken from the 45.
Aw Shucks
Although Willie Mitchell died in January 2010, the website of his Royal Studios is still online. Nothing has been posted since his obituary, however. But there are some interesting photos of the studio.
From YouTube, here's a wonderful Willie Mitchell mini-concert from a 1966 syndicated TV show The !!!! Beat. The host is Nashville DJ Bill (Hoss) Allen. Some of the musicians in Mitchell's band included Teenie Hodges on guitar, Charles Hodges on organ, Leroy Hodges on bass and drummer Howard Grimes. Thanks to poster skankiniteasy for this video.
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