Ralph Willis (blues musician)
Encyclopedia
Ralph Willis was an American
Piedmont
and country
blues
singer, guitarist
and songwriter
. Some of his Savoy
records
were released under pseudonyms, such as Alabama Slim, Washboard Pete and Sleepy Joe.
, Alabama
. In the late 1930s, Willis moved to North Carolina
and started to play along with musicians who were familiar with Blind Boy Fuller
. Willis recorded his debut material in 1944, and continued until 1953, issuing fifty tracks via several record label
s including Savoy
, Signature
, 20th Century, Abbey, Jubilee
, Prestige
, Par, and King Records
.
Similar to Gabriel Brown
, Alec Seward
and Brownie McGhee
, Willis relocated to New York
. Willis originally recorded singly, but record label demands saw him used more frequently with accompaniment. Judson Coleman joined Willis on his 20th Century recordings, and in 1949, McGhee was employed. His latter recordings utilised both McGhee and Sonny Terry
.
Willis employed an array of musical styles from slow blues to uptempo country dance tracks. However he spurned the growing popularity of folk-blues
and R&B
. He was musically conscious of Blind Lemon Jefferson
and Luke Jordan
, but later recordings saw his guitar style leaning towards the booming resonance of Lightnin' Hopkins
.
Willis died in New York in June 1957.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Piedmont
Piedmont blues
Piedmont blues refers primarily to a guitar style, the Piedmont fingerstyle, which is characterized by a fingerpicking approach in which a regular, alternating thumb bass string rhythmic pattern supports a syncopated melody using the treble strings generally picked with the fore-finger,...
and country
Country blues
Country blues is a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly guitar-driven forms of the blues. It often incorporated elements of rural gospel, ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz...
blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
singer, guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
. Some of his Savoy
Savoy Records
Savoy Records is an American record label specializing in jazz, R&B and gospel. Starting in the mid 1940s, Savoy played an important part in popularizing bebop.Savoy Records is an American record label specializing in jazz, R&B and gospel. Starting in the mid 1940s, Savoy played an important part...
records
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
were released under pseudonyms, such as Alabama Slim, Washboard Pete and Sleepy Joe.
Biography
Willis was born near BirminghamBirmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. In the late 1930s, Willis moved to North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
and started to play along with musicians who were familiar with Blind Boy Fuller
Blind Boy Fuller
Blind Boy Fuller was an American blues guitarist and vocalist. He was one of the most popular of the recorded Piedmont blues artists with rural Black Americans, a group that also included Blind Blake, Josh White, and Buddy Moss.-Life and career:Fulton Allen was born in Wadesboro, North Carolina,...
. Willis recorded his debut material in 1944, and continued until 1953, issuing fifty tracks via several record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
s including Savoy
Savoy Records
Savoy Records is an American record label specializing in jazz, R&B and gospel. Starting in the mid 1940s, Savoy played an important part in popularizing bebop.Savoy Records is an American record label specializing in jazz, R&B and gospel. Starting in the mid 1940s, Savoy played an important part...
, Signature
Signature Records
Signature Records was a mid-20th century United States based record label. Noted Signature recording artists included Anita O'Day, Coleman Hawkins, Eddie Lawrence, Ray Anthony, Barbara McNair, Monica Lewis, Dickie Thompson, Jane Harvey, Kay Thompson and Alan Dale. Bob Thiele produced records for...
, 20th Century, Abbey, Jubilee
Jubilee Records
Jubilee Records was a record label specializing in rhythm and blues along with novelty records. It was founded in New York City in 1946 by Herb Abramson. Jerry Blaine became Abramson's partner. Blaine bought out Abramson's half of the company in 1947. The company name was Jay-Gee Recording...
, Prestige
Prestige Records
Prestige Records was a jazz record label founded in 1949 by Bob Weinstock. The company was located at 203 South Washington Avenue in Bergenfield, New Jersey, and recorded hundreds of albums by many of the leading jazz musicians of the day, sometimes issuing them under the names of several...
, Par, and King Records
King Records (USA)
King Records is an American record label, started in 1943 by Syd Nathan and originally headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.-History:At first it specialized in country music, at the time still known as "hillbilly music." King advertised, "If it's a King, It's a Hillbilly -- If it's a Hillbilly, it's a...
.
Similar to Gabriel Brown
Gabriel Brown
Gabriel Brown was an American Piedmont blues singer and guitarist.-Biography:Brown was born in Florida, and graduated from the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College. In 1934, Brown performed at the first National Folk Festival in St. Louis, Missouri. He was musically discovered by folklorist...
, Alec Seward
Alec Seward
Alec Seward was an American Piedmont and country blues singer, guitarist and songwriter. Some of his records were released under pseudonyms, such as Guitar Slim, Blues Servant Boy, King Blues and Georgia Slim...
and Brownie McGhee
Brownie McGhee
Walter Brown McGhee was a Piedmont blues singer and guitarist, best known for his collaborations with the harmonica player Sonny Terry.-Life and career:...
, Willis relocated to New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Willis originally recorded singly, but record label demands saw him used more frequently with accompaniment. Judson Coleman joined Willis on his 20th Century recordings, and in 1949, McGhee was employed. His latter recordings utilised both McGhee and Sonny Terry
Sonny Terry
Saunders Terrell, better known as Sonny Terry was a blind American Piedmont blues musician. He was widely known for his energetic blues harmonica style, which frequently included vocal whoops and hollers, and imitations of trains and fox hunts.-Career:Terry was born in Greensboro, Georgia...
.
Willis employed an array of musical styles from slow blues to uptempo country dance tracks. However he spurned the growing popularity of folk-blues
Country blues
Country blues is a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly guitar-driven forms of the blues. It often incorporated elements of rural gospel, ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz...
and R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
. He was musically conscious of Blind Lemon Jefferson
Blind Lemon Jefferson
"Blind" Lemon Jefferson was an American blues singer and guitarist from Texas. He was one of the most popular blues singers of the 1920s, and has been titled "Father of the Texas Blues"....
and Luke Jordan
Luke Jordan
Luke Jordan was an American blues guitarist and vocalist of some renown in his local area of Lynchburg, Virginia....
, but later recordings saw his guitar style leaning towards the booming resonance of Lightnin' Hopkins
Lightnin' Hopkins
Sam John Hopkins better known as Lightnin’ Hopkins, was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist, from Houston, Texas...
.
Willis died in New York in June 1957.
Selected discography
- Faded Picture Blues (1970) - KingKing Records (USA)King Records is an American record label, started in 1943 by Syd Nathan and originally headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.-History:At first it specialized in country music, at the time still known as "hillbilly music." King advertised, "If it's a King, It's a Hillbilly -- If it's a Hillbilly, it's a...
- Carolina Blues (1974) - Blues Classics
- Ralph Willis Vol. 1 1944-1951 (1994) - DocumentDocument RecordsDocument Records is a British record label that specializes in early American blues, bluegrass, gospel, spirituals jazz, and other rural American genres , generally made between 1900 and 1945...
- Ralph Willis Vol. 2 1951-1953 (1994) - Document