[1] Influenced jointly by his grounding in gospel and Junior Parker's recordings, Blues Boy Willie's songwriting has produced gritty songs, including "Be Who?
Steve Leggett of AllMusic stated that Blues Boy Willie "makes things work by the sheer force of his engaging personality."
[1] His father, James "Tim" McFall[4] was, reportedly, a musician in a tent show band that once accompanied Ma Rainey.
Continually trying to make a living from music, by playing his now local Texas patch of the chitlin' circuit for years, Blues Boy Willie was thrown a lifeline in 1989, when his childhood friend, Gary B.B.
His finale on Ichiban was Juke Joint Blues, again produced by O'Neill, which incorporated another comedic cut, "Marry Myself".
"[8] Through his connection with Coleman, Blues Boy Willie had met Johnny Rawls, and they jointly started the 'Blues Review' touring company, which concentrated their efforts in the Southern United States.
Veteran musicians including Rufus Thomas, Tyrone Davis, and Johnnie Taylor, all performed in the touring ensemble in the late 1990s In 2002, American Roots: Blues, was a 14-song collection of the best cuts from his six Ichiban albums.
[11] Back Again was Blues Boy Willie's first studio album in seven years, it was released on his record producer Johnny Rawls own label, Deep South Sound.
[5] In 2008, Blues Boy Willie was featured as part of Bob Phillips' television anthology series, Texas Country Reporter.
Around 40 musicians from the Texas Panhandle helped raise funds, with Willie playing the harmonica on stage for the first time in years.