[1] The cousin of fellow bluesman Albert Collins, Gates released three albums on the Music Maker label.
He later traveled to Randy's Record Shop in Memphis, Tennessee, gaining valuable guidance from the other blues players of that time.
[4] He moved to Milwaukee in 1959, whilst in his early twenties,[2] and started playing the guitar and singing in local juke joints.
[5][6] Gates found employment with the house band at Wilson's Club in Milwaukee, and remained there for 15 consecutive years.
[7] Over the years Gates has performed across the Midwest, plus his traveling has led him to play in California, Kansas, Alabama, and in Europe.
[2] Growing tired of a lack of recognition, Gates contacted Tim Duffy of the Music Maker Relief Foundation, and stated that he intended to travel to North Carolina with the view of recording an album.
[9] Along the way, Gates played with Albert Collins and Hubert Sumlin, and was a regular weekly performer at the Six Points Pub in West Allis, Wisconsin.