Phillip Mitchell
| Phillip Mitchell | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Leroy Phillip Mitchell |
| Also known as | Prince Phillip Mitchell |
| Born |
June 27, 1944 Louisville, Kentucky, United States |
| Genres | R&B, funk |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, record producer |
| Instruments | Vocals, piano, guitar |
| Years active | 1961–present |
| Labels | Muscle Shoals Sound, Shout, Hi, Event, Atlantic, Ichiban, 3rd Dynasty |
Leroy Phillip Mitchell (born June 27, 1944), often credited as Prince Phillip Mitchell, is an American R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer. He wrote "Starting All Over Again" for Mel and Tim, and "It Hurts So Good" and "Leftovers", which were both hits for Millie Jackson, as well as having some success in the 1970s and 1980s as a solo singer.
Mitchell was born in Louisville, Kentucky, and began singing when at school. After first learning trumpet, he taught himself to play guitar and piano, and started writing songs at an early age. He became lead singer in a local group, the Checkmates, who first recorded in 1961, before he left to join another group, the Cash Registers, who had previously been led by Alvin Cash. They performed in Indianapolis, where Mitchell acquired the nickname "Prince" Phillip, but he was then drafted into the military. He was soon discharged on medical grounds, and became the lead singer for another Indianapolis group, the Moonlighters, before joining a musical revue touring the southern States. On reaching Muscle Shoals, Mitchell left the revue and signed as a performer with Rick Hall's Fame record label. However, his recordings were not released at the time, and he then recorded unsuccessfully with producer Huey Meaux in Houston, Texas. Next, he moved to Los Angeles, where he became a member of vocal and dance group the Bean Brothers, so named for their height - Mitchell is 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) tall.
In 1969 he returned to Muscle Shoals, where he signed a contract as a songwriter with the Muscle Shoals Sound label run by Roger Hawkins and Barry Beckett of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. While there, he wrote "It Hurts So Good", first recorded by Katie Love in 1971 and later a hit for both Millie Jackson and (as "Hurt So Good") Susan Cadogan. Mitchell recorded for the Shout label, including the single "Free For All", and began writing songs for Stax Records. His most successful was "Starting All Over Again", originally written for Sam and Dave but recorded instead by Mel and Tim, whose version was a Billboard chart hit in 1972.
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