[citation needed] Sources suggest that Willis was born either near Birmingham, Alabama,[2] or at Irvin, Wilkes County, Georgia.
[3] In the late 1930s, he moved to North Carolina and started to play with musicians who were familiar with Blind Boy Fuller.
[1] Like Gabriel Brown, Alec Seward and Brownie McGhee, Willis relocated to New York City.
[1] Willis played in various musical styles, from slow blues to up-tempo country dance tracks.
[1] He was musically conscious of Blind Lemon Jefferson and Luke Jordan, but in his later recordings his guitar style leaned towards the booming resonance of Lightnin' Hopkins.