Howard Lee Grimes is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 drummer

Drummer

A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...

, best known as a member of the Hi Rhythm Section

Hi Rhythm Section

The Hi Rhythm Section was most notably the house band for hit soul albums by several artists, including Al Green and Ann Peebles, on Willie Mitchell's Hi Records label in the 1970s. The band included the three Hodges brothers, Charles Hodges , Leroy Hodges , and Mabon "Teenie" Hodges , together...

 on records by Al Green

Al Green

Albert Greene , better known as Al Green, is an American gospel and soul music singer. He reached the peak of his popularity in the 1970s, with hit singles such as "You Oughta Be With Me", "I'm Still In Love With You", "Love and Happiness", and "Let's Stay Together"...

, Ann Peebles

Ann Peebles

Ann Peebles is an African American singer-songwriter who gained celebrity for her Memphis soul albums of the 1970s on the Hi Records label...

 and others in the 1970s.

Born in Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....

, Grimes first performed in public at the age of 12, with Rufus Thomas

Rufus Thomas

Rufus Thomas, Jr. was an American rhythm and blues, funk and soul singer and comedian fromMemphis, Tennessee, who recorded on Sun Records in the...

. By his late teens he recorded regularly on sessions for Satellite Records, which later became Stax

Stax Records

Stax Records is an American record label, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee.Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the name Stax Records was adopted in 1961. The label was a major factor in the creation of the Southern soul and Memphis soul music styles, also releasing gospel, funk, jazz, and...

, where he was tutored by Al Jackson, Jr.. He also began working with bandleader and record producer

Record producer

A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

 Willie Mitchell at Hi Records

Hi Records

Hi Records was a Memphis soul and rockabilly label started in 1957 by singer Ray Harris, record store owner Joe Cuoghi, Bill Cantrell and Quinton Claunch , and three silent partners, including Cuoghi's lawyer, Nick Pesce....

, taking over as Mitchell's main drummer after Jackson's death. As a key member of the house band at Mitchell's Royal Recording Studios in Memphis, Grimes was instrumental in creating some the most memorable songs and soul grooves of the 1970s.

After the demise of Hi Records in the late 1970s, Grimes continued to perform with Mabon "Teenie" Hodges and other members of the Hi house band, credited as Hi Rhythm or, on the 1994 album Perfect Gentlemen, the Hodges Brothers.