Background
Willis was born near Birmingham, Alabama.
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Ralph Willis
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Some of his Savoy records were released under pseudonyms, such as Alabama Slim, Washboard Pete and Sleepy Joe. In the late 1930s, he moved to North Carolina and started to play with musicians who were familiar with Blind Boy Fuller. Willis recorded his debut material in 1944, and continued until 1953, issuing fifty tracks on several labels, including Savoy, Signature, 20th Century, Abbey, Jubilee, Prestige, Par, and King.
Like Gabriel Brown, Alec Seward and Brownie McGhee, Willis relocated to New York City.
He originally recorded singly, but eventually his record companies frequently paired him with accompaniment. Judson Coleman joined Willis on his 20th Century recordings, and McGhee was employed in 1949.
His latter recordings utilised both McGhee and Sonny Terry. Willis employed an array of musical styles from slow blues to up-tempo country dance tracks.
However he spurned the growing popularity of folk blues and Rhythm & Blues. He was musically conscious of Blind Lemon Jefferson and Luke Jordan, but in his later recordings his guitar style leaned towards the booming resonance of Lightnin" Hopkins.
Willis died in New York in June 1957.
