On March 1, 2012, a historical marker was unveiled outside Royal Studios at 1320 Willie Mitchell Blvd in South Memphis in honor of the studios, Hi Records and Willie Mitchell. A number of Memphis music figures and personalities were there, including Preston Lauterbach, the author of The Chitlin Circuit and the Road to Rock and Roll, Boo Mitchell and many other members of the Mitchell family, Steve Burrage and the Novareses of the Poplar Tunes record stores, Otis Clay, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Earl Randle, Darryl Carter, Teenie Hodges, Charles Hodges, Howard Grimes, Scott Bomar of the Bo-Keys, Wes Phillips and DJ Bay of Select-O-Hits Music Distribution, Elizabeth Montgomery of Ardent, Cameron Mann and Pat Mitchell of the Memphis Music Foundation, local music supporter and businessman Kris Kourdevelis, George Klein, Jack Hale of the Memphis Horns, Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell and US Representative Steve Cohen of the 9th Congressional District. It was a beautiful day, and one of the kind of events that shows the good side of Memphis and what our city can and will be with a shared purpose and vision.
