About
Legendary Memphis, Tennessee rockabilly and soul label founded by Ray Harris (3) (co-owner, 1957-1970), record store owner Joe Cuoghi (whose surname inspired the label name), former Sun Records staff producers Bill Cantrell and and a trio of silent partners including Cuoghi's lawyer Nick Pesche in 1957. Among its artists were Willie Mitchell (who was also a co-owner of the label from 1970-77), Syl Johnson, Jumpin' Gene Simmons, Ann Peebles, Bill Black's Combo, O.V. Wright, the original Ebony Web Michael Allen (2) and, most famously, Al Green. Hi was distributed by London Records from the mid 1960s until the company's sale to Al Bennett's Cream Records (4) in 1977. The label became dormant in the early 1980s and licensed its catalog to Motown only to discover that it only reissued the Al Green material and left the rest of the catalog in the vaults (which violated the licensing agreement) plus the company faced copyright liens against its entire catalog placed by both Motown and Cream Records' creditors. Adelah Bennett Shaw, Bennett's daughter, fought this action and won eventually settling with its creditors and regaining the rights to the Hi catalog from Motown. Shaw took over from her father after his death in 1989. She struck a new licensing agreement with Capitol-EMI's The Right Stuff reissue unit and reissued a number of albums from the Hi catalog on CD. Hi also was reactivated as an active label in the late 1990s, signing new acts and releasing new material. Adelah Bennett Shaw died in 2008. The label is now distributed by Fat Possum Records in North America and Australia and by Demon Music Group in Europe. Label name also appears as "Hi" only.
