[1] Willis James was born in Montgomery, Alabama, United States, and was raised in Pensacola and Jacksonville, Florida.
James enrolled at Morehouse in 1919, and his studies included the traditional core of music courses, as well as the violin and several other instruments.
James showed great promise as a concert violinist and performed as a recitalist and soloist throughout his career.
from Morehouse in 1923, James pursued further study with Oswald Blake and Edwin Gerschefski at the Chicago Musical College.
At the time of his death on December 27, 1966, he left a completed manuscript, Stars in De Elements, which was published in 1995 as a special issue of the journal Black Sacred Music.