Warren was born in Lake Providence, Louisiana, in 1919, and at the age of three months moved with his parents to Memphis, Tennessee.
[1] He was interested in music from an early age and was working occasionally as a musician from around 1931, when he dropped out of school,[1] having learned to play guitar from two of his older brothers.
[2] In the 1930s, he worked in W. C. Handy Park, Memphis, with Howling Wolf, Robert Jr. Lockwood and Little Buddy Doyle and he appeared on the radio show King Biscuit Time, broadcast from Helena, Arkansas, with Sonny Boy Williamson around 1941.
[3] Warren's first recording sessions were in 1949 and 1950 in Detroit, with the five resulting singles being released on a number of labels.
[5] He suffered a fatal heart attack at his home on July 1, 1977, and was buried at Detroit Memorial Park Cemetery in Macomb County, Michigan.