McKinley Mitchell

McKinley Mitchell (December 25, 1934 – January 18, 1986)[1] was an American Chicago-based blues and rhythm and blues singer, who started out performing gospel music. His first recorded single was for Boxer Records around 1959. His big break came with his 1962 record, "The Town I Live In," which became a national R&B hit on the One-derful label in Chicago. "The Town I Live In" peaked at number eight on the US Billboard R&B chart.[2]

Reviewing Mitchell's self-titled 1978 album, Robert Christgau wrote in Christgau's Record Guide (1981):

"A small miracle: Bobby Bland meets Brook Benton in the timeless realm of the not-quite-folkloric, where soul and blues sound precisely contemporary and strings voice old horn riffs with no suggestion of sellout. Mitchell's seven tunes don't measure up to the other three—'Dream Lover,' 'You're So Fine,' and a classic blues from the early '70s called 'Open House at My House.' But it doesn't matter, because this is one of those groove records on which ordinary songwriting is transmuted by perfect pacing and unshakable stylistic conviction."[3]

In his later career Mitchell returned to Mississippi and recorded "I Won't Be Back for More" in 1984.

He was born in Jackson, Mississippi, and died in Chicago Heights, Illinois, from a heart attack in January 1986, at the age of 51.[1]

References
  1. Doc Rock. "The 1980s". The Dead Rock Stars Club. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  2. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004. Record Research. p. 406.. He left One-derful around 1965, and recorded for a variety of labels in Chicago, notably Chess Records (with Willie Dixon).
  3. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: M". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 8, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.


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