(Editor’s note: I’m on a quest to catalog all of the places in the Memphis area with historical markers in an occasional feature called “On This Date, Something Happened".)

A brand new historical marker has been planted in Soulsville. It's outside of Royal Recording, the small South Memphis studio that was run by the late, great Willie Mitchell.

Here's the studio:

And here's the shiny new marker:

"Constructed as the Shamrock Theater in 1915, this building was converted into Royal Recording Studios in 1957. Home of Hi Records and the Hi Rhythm Section, Royal grew from a minor rockabilly studio into one of the most successful producers of soul music worldwide. Willie Mitchell (1928 - 2010) created the signature soul sound of Hi Records at Royal, a sound also exemplified by singers Ann Peebles, O.V. Wright, Otis Clay, Sly Johnson and Al Green. Green's "Let's Stay Together", recorded here, topped the charts of Billboard magazine in February, 1972. Mitchell, who purchased Royal from Cream Records in 1984, collaborated with a wide spectrum of artists including Phineas Newborn, Jr., the Bill Black Combo, Ace Cannon and Keith Richards."

Though Willie Mitchell has passed on, Royal Recording is still a functioning studio.

Go there:

Royal Recording Studios