Johnnie Lee Wills
Encyclopedia
Johnnie Lee Wills was an American Western swing
fiddle
r popular in the 1930s and 1940s.
, and was the younger brother of Bob Wills
. He played banjo with Bob as a member of the Texas Playboys starting in 1934, the year the ensemble began playing on KVOO-AM
in Tulsa, Oklahoma
. In 1939 he founded his own group, the Rhythmairs, but returned to the Playboys in 1940 when Bob split the ensemble into two groups and named Johnnie Lee leader of one of them. Following Bob's move to California in 1940, Johnnie Lee renamed his group Johnnie Lee Wills & All The Boys, remaining in Oklahoma. Johnnie Lee switched from banjo to fiddle in this group.
In 1941 he signed with Decca Records
, and recorded again with Bullet Records
in 1949, where he saw his greatest success with songs such as "Rag Mop" and "Peter Cotton Tail". In 1952 he signed with RCA Victor, where he was less successful, though he was still a popular draw in Oklahoma and remained a fixture on KVOO until 1958.
He continued to record through the early 1960s, but his ensemble dissolved in 1964, after which he was only intermittently active in music. He opened a clothing store in Tulsa, and recorded for Flying Fish Records
and Delta Records in the 1970s after Bear Family Records
and Rounder Records
reissued some of his old material.
Wills died from heart complications on October 25, 1984 in Tulsa.
On September 14, 1996, Tulsa honored Wills with a street named after him. Johnnie Lee Wills Lane is directly in front of the Expo Square Pavilion
at the Tulsa State Fairgrounds. At the official dedication in 1996, his son John T. Wills said, "...although Dad was born a Texan, when you think about it, he lived and died a Tulsan."
Western swing
Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands...
fiddle
Fiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
r popular in the 1930s and 1940s.
Biography
Wills was born in Jewett, TexasJewett, Texas
Jewett is a city in Leon County, Texas, United States. The population was 861 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Jewett is located at ....
, and was the younger brother of Bob Wills
Bob Wills
James Robert Wills , better known as Bob Wills, was an American Western Swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader, considered by music authorities as the co-founder of Western Swing and universally known as the pioneering King of Western Swing.Bob Wills' name will forever be associated with...
. He played banjo with Bob as a member of the Texas Playboys starting in 1934, the year the ensemble began playing on KVOO-AM
KFAQ
KFAQ is a news/talk radio station in the Tulsa, Oklahoma, area. The station is owned by Journal Broadcast Group and airs a mix of local and national talk shows. The station is an ABC News Radio affiliate...
in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
. In 1939 he founded his own group, the Rhythmairs, but returned to the Playboys in 1940 when Bob split the ensemble into two groups and named Johnnie Lee leader of one of them. Following Bob's move to California in 1940, Johnnie Lee renamed his group Johnnie Lee Wills & All The Boys, remaining in Oklahoma. Johnnie Lee switched from banjo to fiddle in this group.
In 1941 he signed with Decca Records
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
, and recorded again with Bullet Records
Bullet Records
At least three record labels with the name Bullet Records have existed.The earliest one was a record label based in Nashville, USA, which was started in 1945 by Jim Bulliet and C.V. Hitchcock. Bulleit was an early partner in Sun Records...
in 1949, where he saw his greatest success with songs such as "Rag Mop" and "Peter Cotton Tail". In 1952 he signed with RCA Victor, where he was less successful, though he was still a popular draw in Oklahoma and remained a fixture on KVOO until 1958.
He continued to record through the early 1960s, but his ensemble dissolved in 1964, after which he was only intermittently active in music. He opened a clothing store in Tulsa, and recorded for Flying Fish Records
Flying Fish Records
Flying Fish Records was a Chicago-based eclectic blues and country record label. It was founded in 1974 by Bruce Kaplan, former president of the University of Chicago's Folklore Society....
and Delta Records in the 1970s after Bear Family Records
Bear Family Records
Bear Family Records is a Germany-based independent record label that specializes in reissues of archival material ranging from country music to 1950s rock and roll to old German movie soundtracks.-History:...
and Rounder Records
Rounder Records
Rounder Records, originally of Cambridge, Massachusetts, but now based in Burlington, Massachusetts, is a record label founded in 1970 by Ken Irwin, Bill Nowlin and Marian Leighton-Levy, while all three were still university students...
reissued some of his old material.
Wills died from heart complications on October 25, 1984 in Tulsa.
On September 14, 1996, Tulsa honored Wills with a street named after him. Johnnie Lee Wills Lane is directly in front of the Expo Square Pavilion
Expo Square Pavilion
The Expo Square Pavilion, sometimes called simply The Pavilion, and formerly known as the Tulsa Fairgrounds Pavilion, is a 6,311-seat multi-purpose arena, in Tulsa, Oklahoma.It was built in 1932; the architect was Leland I Shumway...
at the Tulsa State Fairgrounds. At the official dedication in 1996, his son John T. Wills said, "...although Dad was born a Texan, when you think about it, he lived and died a Tulsan."