Norris was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and raised in Chicago, where he was tutored in music composition and performance by Walter Dyett.
[2] He moved to Los Angeles in the mid-1940s, played in nightclubs, and developed a reputation as a session musician in Hollywood.
[1] He also accompanied the singers Percy Mayfield and Floyd Dixon and for some time played in the Johnny Otis Orchestra.
[2] In 1980, he recorded a live album, The Los Angeles Flash, in Gothenburg, Sweden.
[1] The Swedish rock band The Chuck Norris Experiment claim to have taken their name from the guitarist, who recorded The Los Angeles Flash in their home city of Gothenburg, rather than from the actor of the same name, with whom the musician is sometimes confused.