The Memphis Royal Brothers are thrilled to announce their new single "Goin' South" featuring the iconic Charlie Musselwhite on vocals and harmonica. They are backed by a cast of legendary Memphis music all-stars, including the Memphis Horns. The song, premiered by American Blues Scene, is off of their self-titled release due out July 26th via Royal Records. Listen here.
The track, written by Gary Bolen, Richard Bolen, and Wes Hamil, takes the listener on a bluesy road trip steeped in Memphis soul courtesy of triple Grammy winner Boo Mitchell’s production. It puts the listener deep in the cotton fields, history and heat of the birthplace of American Music, whereas the lyrics go, “the South’s a state of mind”. Musselwhite declared, "It all came together to create a beautiful and unforgettable mood. I felt so comfortable in this swampy groove.”
The project was overseen by Grammy Award-winning producer/engineer Boo Mitchell, son of the renowned producer Willie Mitchell (owner/operator of Hi Records, the label that launched Al Green, Ann Peebles, Syl Johnson, O.V. Wright, and some of the greatest names in the history of Memphis soul) and co-producer Richard Bolen, an astute marketing professional. The appropriately dubbed Memphis Royal Brothers boasts a line-up of living legends, six of them are Grammy Award winners, and several are nominees, along with an Academy Award-winning writer.
Richard and Gary Bolen were originally inspired by the award-winning documentary, Take Me to the River; the brothers brought the idea of creating a namesake band around the studio's iconic environs while enlisting Boo to recruit the musicians and provide the facilities to bring the dream to fruition. Further, Gary Bolen, Richard Bolen's younger brother, composed much of the material in collaboration with Wes Hamil and played guitar in the band. "Richard and Gary have such great energy and really good hearts and spirits," Mitchell said. "They just felt like family from the first introduction. And when the energy is that good, it always makes me want to go the extra mile, pull out all the stops, and do everything I can to make the project successful."
Boo's enthusiasm was evident from the outset. The musicians he enlisted are part of an extended family that worked closely with his father, and they still retain their ties to Boo and the Royal Recording Studio legacy. Between them, they've played on thousands of albums spawning rock n' roll, blues, soul, R&B, country, jazz, and Americana country, featuring some of the most extraordinary musical acts ever. “The Memphis Royal Brothers are a collective; you’ve got musicians from Royal and Stax; I mix it up with some young guys too. It’s making music, passing torches, and just good for the whole music community," declared Boo.
What resulted from this incredible combination is an album for the ages. These songs share a timeless tradition, performed by masterful musicians, and produced in a place that reflects one of the essential bloodlines of roots, blues, and rock and roll: Clarksdale, Mississippi. The songs echo those strains of classic American music — Rock, Delta Blues, Memphis Soul, Gospel, and R&B.
Mitchell agrees it is part of a remarkable legacy that spans sixty years of a great Memphis musical heritage that's coming together now to create new musical magic. "There's history here," Boo suggests. "But it's also a continuum. So, the legacy lives on as a testament to a timeless tradition.
