He was born in Petsworth, Gloucester County, Virginia[1] (though some sources give Salisbury, Maryland),[2] and grew up in Norfolk.
His band backed many of Atlantic's most successful R&B artists of the period, with the recordings often featuring Culley's pianist, Harry Van Walls.
11 R&B hit in 1949 with his version of the instrumental "Cole Slaw", originally written (as "Sorghum Switch") by Jesse Stone and also recorded by Louis Jordan.
He later recorded, with little commercial success, for other labels including Coral, RCA Victor, Chess, and – with singer Jimmy Rushing – for Parrot.In 1955, Culley recorded several tracks on one of the first rock and roll LPs, Rock'n'Roll Instrumentals for Dancing the Lindy Hop, released on the Baton label, with the other tracks performed by the Buddy Tate Orchestra.
[3] After continuing to perform in clubs, Culley retired from the music business in 1975, and moved to Newark, New Jersey, where he died aged 73 in 1991.