Biography: Willie Lofton, Willie Lomax, Willie Love, Willie Mabon, Willie Mae Ford Smith, Willie Max, Willie Mitchell, Willie Murphy, Willie Neal Johnson, Wallace Johnson,

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Willie Lofton Biography, Photos, Pictures

An obscure Delta blues player from Mississippi, Willie “Poor Boy” Lofton falls loosely into the Charley Patton/Tommy Johnson blues camp His voice was eerily similar to Johnson’s, and his most striking song was a version of Johnson’s “Big Road Blues,” called “Dark Road Blues,” which featured Lofton’s staccato guitar style, which again appears to have been drawn at least partially from Johnson

Willie Lomax Biography, Photos, Pictures

Willie Lomax was born and raised in Miami, FL, the son of a jazz drummer He began playing trumpet at the age of nine, switching to guitar in his late teens, when he fell heavily under the spell of the blues

Harpist Rice Miller, known to his legion of fans across the Delta as Sonny Boy Williamson, first encountered pianist Willie Love in Greenville, MS, in 1942 The talented pair played regularly on Nelson Street, the main drag of the Black section of Greenville, musically intertwining with remarkable empathy

Willie Mabon Biography, Photos, Pictures

The sly, insinuating vocals and chunky piano style of Willie Mabon won the heart of many an R&B fan during the early ’50s His salty Chess waxings “I Don’t Know,” “I’m Mad,” and “Poison Ivy” established the pianist as a genuine Chicago blues force, but he faded as an R&B hitmaker at the dawn of rock & roll

Willie Mae Ford Smith Biography, Photos, Pictures

Considered the greatest of the “anointed singers” — artists who live according to the spirit, and who perform with the ultimate aim of saving souls — Willie Mae Ford Smith was among the most legendary gospel vocalists of her era; rarely recorded, her enormous reputation instead rested almost entirely on her incendiary live performances, where her dramatic, physical style inspired many of the finest soloists to follow in her wake

The Detroit-based R&B trio Willie Max comprised sisters Rose, Sky and Lyric Smith Beginning their careers during the late 1980s as teens performing under the name the Smith Reflections, the group opened for acts including Tony! Toni! Tone!, whose Raphael Saddiq became the sisters’ mentor; rechristening themselves Willie Max after the respective first names of their father and mother, issuing their debut LP Bona Fide (the first release on Saddiq’s Pookie Records label) in 1998

Willie Mitchell Biography, Photos, Pictures

Best-known as the man who signed Al Green to Hi Records and as the producer of Green’s most popular records, Willie Mitchell had a successful recording career of his own during the mid-’60s before meeting Green

Willie Murphy Biography, Photos, Pictures

A blues pianist and former leader of Willies and the Bees, Murphy has long been a fixture on the Minneapolis club scene His album Mr Mature conveys his style well ~ Dan Heilman, All Music Guide

Willie Neal Johnson Biography, Photos, Pictures

Known throughout the gospel circuit as “The Country Boy” for his rootsy, blues-driven style, singer Willie Neal Johnson was born and raised in Tyler, TX; he began performing with his five siblings while still a child, and was still in his teens when he was tapped to join Rev

Wallace Johnson Biography, Photos, Pictures

Vocalist Wallace Johnson last sang around New Orleans clubs more than 20 years ago, but it wasn’t until the mid-’90s that his singing has been recorded and made available to a larger public outside of New Orleans, thanks to New Orleans-based producer Allen Toussaint

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