William McKinley "Jazz" Gillum (September 11, 1902[1] or 1904 – March 29, 1966)[2] was an American blues harmonica player and singer.
He ran away from home at age seven and for the next few years lived in Charleston, Mississippi, working and playing for tips on street corners.
(The song had first been recorded a few months earlier by Charlie Segar, with a different melody and a 12-bar blues arrangement.)
[5] Gillum recorded an early version of "Look on Yonder Wall" (1946) with Big Maceo on piano, which was later popularized by Elmore James.
[6] On March 29, 1966, Gillum was shot in the head during a street argument and was pronounced dead on arrival at Garfield Park Hospital, in Chicago.