Early in his life, he lived in Centerville with his farmer father, George Washington Wells, and mother, Florence.

The instruments were provided by Miss Bessie Allen and they were conducted by Lockwood Lewis and they traveled in a truck to play at county fairs.

[4] Wells’ first paid band job was with Lucius Brown at the Eight Mile House until a train wreck happened in Kentucky.

They lived in the Sterling Hotel, in Cincinnati, Ohio until they all went to New York after Buchanan of the Savory Ballroom heard them play in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

[4] In the next few years, he played in numerous orchestras led by musicians including Benny Carter, Spike Hughes, and Fletcher Henderson.

[4] Wells then toured with the Teddy Hill band in the late 1930s in Paris where he was recruited by jazz critic, Hugues Panassié to play for him with guitarist Django Reinhardt and trumpet player, Bill Coleman.

He was taken to play with the band at a country club in Plainfield, New Jersey which led him to get hired for a six-week show at the Famous Door.

[4] Despite his personal troubles, he continued to tour but with Buck Clayton in many European countries such as Paris, London, Italy, Sweden, and Denmark.

[7] He played frequently at the West End jazz club at 116th and Broadway, most often with a band called The Countsmen, led by alto saxophonist Earle Warren, his colleague from Count Basie days.