Playing his first live date at the age of 12 with the legendary
Rufus Thomas, drummer
Howard Grimes has been a mainstay on the Memphis blues and r&b scene for over four decades. He began recording with Stax records (then known as Satellite) as a teenager and by his late twenties he was a member of the famed Hi Rhythm Section, backing such soul greats as
Ann Peebles and
Al Green.
Born In Memphis, Tennessee in 1941,
Grimes started playing drums at the age of six, being inspired by the sounds he heard in church and by his mother's 78 recordings, particularly
Bill Doggett's "Honky Tonk." At Stax he was tutored by
Al Jackson of
Booker T. and the MGs. By the time he reached Hi records producer Willie Mitchell, he was already a veteran performer, although he was still in his twenties. As a key member of the house band at Royal Recording Studios in Memphis,
Grimes was instrumental in creating some the most memorable songs and soul grooves of the 1970s. After the decline of Hi records,
Grimes teamed with Hi bassist
Leroy Hodges, backing an ever-increasing number of blues and soul artists into the '90s. ~ Keith Brown